Murder in the Mushroom Kingdom
by PSULucky
Summary: Peach's birthday is coming up, and this year, she's going to celebrate in a different way. She's in high distress while she tries to set up the entire party in only two days, but it only gets, much, much worse...
1. Prelude

Author's Note-Thank you for coming to read my fan fiction, Murder in the Mushroom Kingdom. This is the prelude (exceptionally short), and I hope you enjoy!

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Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Prelude**

_Dear Mario and Luigi, _

_I'm sure you know that my birthday is coming up in two days, and, this year, I'm going to do something a little different. Instead of just celebrating my normal way, I've decided to rejoice with the entire Mushroom Kingdom! I'm going to host a party at my castle on the very night of my birthday. The time for arrival is around 7:00, but, knowing you, you'll arrive early. I know you'll come!_

_Peach_


	2. Receiving the Letter

Here's chapter 1! I hope you enjoy it!

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Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 1-Receiving the Letter**

It was a Tuesday, a very boring Tuesday. It was one of those days where just didn't know what to do, and even when you _found _something to do, it was still boring.

Mario was especially bored. It wasn't like him…not at all. 'Boredom' wasn't his chief mood. Generally he was bouncing off the walls with excitement, always looking for fun. It always seemed as though he ate a few bowls of sugar for breakfast or something…or he was just one happy guy…

Luigi wasn't actually bored, however. The day _was _boring, but Luigi wasn't constantly thinking 'there's nothing to do' as Mario did. It was, more or less, that he was tired. He had been visiting Daisy's castle the previous night, when, on his way back the Mushroom Kingdom, the ShyGuy pilot got lost and he arrived home almost three hours later than he was supposed to. Stupid pilot…if it weren't for him, he could be enjoying the day, or at least _trying_…

The odd thing was, between the two of them, they both almost seemed to had forgotten Peach's birthday was in only two days. Apparently they had not yet received the letter she had sent them…

Well, they would both definitely go to the party. Not because they actually wanted to (but they still did), but that if they didn't, Peach would be one angry woman. Mario always thought that jumping into a volcano wouldn't be as bad as getting in a fight with Peach. Well, maybe not, because the volcano would kill you. Come to think of it, though, a fight with Peach wouldn't have a very different outcome…not at all…

Once, Mario made Peach so mad that she even broke up with him for two weeks. Those fourteen days were the worst moments in his life, as Mario put it. He had found it quite lonely with Peach not around. He had nobody to talk to…but that might have been better, considering that when he starts a conversation, there's no end in sight for about an hour. It seemed either Peach was too quiet, or talked too much…she just couldn't get it right, could she?

Luigi stood up from his comfortable chair as soon as he saw the Paratroopa mailman arrive. Luigi had always liked to get the mail immediately after it was delivered…weird. So what, did he _like _getting bills? Either way, he would have to get the mail eventually, so why not get the task out of the way?

The green-capped plumber strode towards the front door, opening it and then shutting it as soon as he was outside.

Inside the mailbox, letters were scattered about in a not-so-organized manner. He took all of them out, opening a certain one which caught his eye. It appeared to be from Peach, which was quite odd. Her castle wasn't far from their house…why did she need to send a letter? Aw well, that didn't matter…as long as the message gets across, right?

Luigi read the letter at a painfully slow pace. His tiredness was definitely getting to him, causing his eyes to get 'whacked out', as he put it. By the time Luigi finished the first sentence, Mario could have finished the _entire thing_.

After he finished reading the neatly written letter, an almost confused and shocked expression was thrust upon his face. He looked around sheepishly, almost as though he had tripped over a twig and landed flat on his face. He was, more or less, _internally _embarrassed. Why? Well, he completely forgot about Peach's birthday!

If he actually told Peach such a thing, a slap would be coming his way, followed by a long and boring lecture. That's definitely not what he wanted.

Luigi ignored the rest of the letters, walking back into the house. He laid all of the bills and junk mail on a table aside of the door, and handed Mario the letter from Peach.

Mario read the letter at an extremely fast pace. What, did he want to win a letter-reading contest or something? Luigi almost wanted to tell him to slow down.

"Well, we're definitely going…" Mario said, a bit excited over the letter.

Luigi nodded, "Of course…"

Mario looked up at his brother, who was standing in front of him,

"Yep. Peach would be awfully mad if we didn't…"

"And we wouldn't want that…" Luigi added.

Mario grinned and nodded, "Remember the time she…"

And the next several minutes were spent with the two brothers gossiping about Peach and the fits she would throw. Maybe the day wasn't completely wasted after all…


	3. Setting Up the Party

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 2-Setting Up the Party**

Peach was rushing around her castle, ushering groups of Toads with balloons and other party supplies. Maybe giving herself only two days wasn't enough time to set up an entire party. Wow, for once Peach didn't have all the time in the world and wasn't calm! _That's _not something you'd see everyday…

"No, no, no!" Peach yelled to one of her Toads, "I told you get _red _flowers!" Peach was certainly in distress, and her Toads were becoming oddly useless. When Peach didn't need to rush, it seemed as though the Toads were perfect at accomplishing a task she gave them, but now when she really needed them…they were disappointing her…

"Peach?" Toadiko, a Toadette asked, "Where did you say you wanted me to put the balloons?" Toadiko looked similar to most Toadettes, but there were a few minor differences in her appeal. For one, she wore large, round, yellow earrings. She also wore a pink shirt that needed to be buttoned. Otherwise, she looked like a normal Toadette.

Peach sighed when Toadiko asked her question. She wasn't _too _angry though…at least Toadiko remembered that she was supposed to _get_ the balloons…, "You put them all around the outside borders of the stage…except you are to leave a small space in the right corner. That's where Mario's going to stand…"

Toadiko nodded, still unsure why Mario was to be standing on stage, though. She had remembered Peach talking earlier that all of the important people in her life would get to stand on stage…so maybe that's why? Well, it didn't really matter…, "Alright, you group of Toads, listen up!" Toadiko pointed to a group of Toads that appeared to have nothing to do, "Move these balloons around the outside border of the stage!"

The Toads complied without any hesitation or complaints.

Peach was still in a state of distress. Toads were forgetting their jobs, the party looked like a mess, and someone just spilled the entire bowl of punch all over the stage. Great…

"Umm…princess?" Toadbert asked. Toadbert was a Toad, but had a light blue mushroom and had white spots. He also wore glasses and a tie, which fell upon his light blue colored vest.

Peach turned around. _Now _what did someone want?! If someone was going to tell her that something went wrong, she was going to explode. She almost wished she _could _explode, just so she could put herself out of her misery. If only…if only…, "Yes?"

"The disco light isn't working…"

Peach growled…actually growled…

"What do you want to me to do with it?"

"I-." Peach paused, taking a deep breathe, trying to calm her fury. She was getting a bit over-worked, and really needed to relieve some of her stress, "Just…try and fix it…"

Toadbert nodded, but didn't respond. He could certainly tell that Peach was not in the mood for any 'okay' or 'thank you'.

"Alright!" Peach yelled, trying to get everyone's attention.

Everyone stopped what they were doing at once. Even a Toad accidentally let go of a large bunch of balloons, which then floated up to the ceiling of the ball room, almost eighty feet up.

Peach sighed, but didn't start screaming, "We'll get those later…but right now…there's something I want to discuss…" She paused looking at all of the Toads and Toadettes staring at her. It looked like they were all participating in a staring contest or something…, "We're going to go over where everybody on stage is going to stand for the party…"

Some Toads and Toadettes nodded, while others just continued looking up at her.

"First off, I'm to stand in the center of the stage. On my direct left, there will be Toadiko and then Toadsworth,"

There were more nods. No one dared to speak or interrupt. Who knew what would happen if they angered Peach even more? _That _was something they surely did not want to do…not at all…

"On my direct _right_, there will be Toadbert, then Toadetta, and then Toadario…"

Toadetta looked exactly how a Toadette would look, except Peach always considered her to be a more trustworthy, loyal, and dependable servant. That was the reason for Toadetta's presence on stage during the party.

Toadario was a bit different from most Toads. He had a dark blue mushroom with black spots. Otherwise, any other Toad features were nearly the same, despite the fact that his vest was dark blue.

"The Toad band will stand behind me and to the left…" Peach continued. She had always wanted to have a Toad band, instead of a DJ and all of his expensive looking stuff, as she put it, "Daisy and Luigi will stand to the left of the Toad and, while Mario will stand in the upper right and corner. Understood?"

Most of the Toads and Toadettes nodded, but some even had the courage to mumble 'yes ma'am', 'understood', or 'okay'. After that, they got back to whatever they were doing.

Peach gave a reassuring sigh. At least they understood _that_. Well, maybe not…at the party, Peach wouldn't be surprised if they were randomly standing on stage looking around confused, asking 'where did you say I was supposed to stand'. That wouldn't be a surprise at all…seriously. That wouldn't be the first time that it would happen. It previously happened a few years back when Peach hosted one of the annual balls. She wished she could have forgotten about that…it wasn't one of those things that you want to remember…

"Peach! Peach!" Toadetta rushed up to her. She seemed urgent about something.

Peach almost didn't want to ask what she wanted. She completely suspected another pile of bad news…how unlucky can one person get in a day? Apparently, a lot. The princess looked at the anxious Toadette. Either something really _was _wrong, or she just needed to go to the bathroom…

"Toadsworth said it was _my _job to cook the roast! He keeps insisting, even when I tell him that I'm in charge of the decorations…" Toadetta looked up to Peach with 'puppy dog eyes'. They seemed to be pleading 'please, Peach…do something'. Well…it wasn't rare a occurrence for the 'puppy dog' look. It seemed that Toadettes would do it whenever they really wanted something…which was quite often.

"Oh…so nothing actually broke…or went wrong?"

Toadetta shook her head.

"Well, where is he? I'll inform him that he's mistaken…"


	4. Brunch with Daisy

I'm sorry I didn't get a chance to update in a while. I just had my birthday party a few days ago and for six days I didn't really get to go much on the computer. Expect updates every 2-3 days (maybe even sooner if I'm lucky). Enjoy!

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 3-Brunch with Daisy**

Mario and Luigi were still in their house. Mario was merely sitting on his recliner, while Luigi was on the phone with someone.

"Hey bro!" Luigi called as soon as he was off the phone.

"Yeah?" Mario called back.

"It was Daisy on the phone…she said she just got that letter about Peach's party and is coming to the Mushroom Kingdom to stay for a few nights before the party. She wants to go to breakfast with us…"

Mario considered this. It was about 11:30, so wouldn't it be a little late for breakfast? Lunch was more like it, "Don't you mean _lunch_?"

Luigi rolled his eyes. It seemed as though Mario always got so worked up when it came to food. It was as though he wanted to stress how important food was by being sure that people understood what meal they were eating…weirdo…, "Well, it would be more like brunch…"

Mario grinned. Even he thought that the conversation was a bit strange. Did it really matter? Well, to Mario, you may never know…

About forty-five minutes passed before the flower-loving princess approached their doorstep and rang the doorbell. Luigi was relieved she had arrived as early as she did. Mario kept on complaining that he was getting hungry and didn't want to wait for Daisy. Luckily she turned out to be one speedy lady. That was one thing Luigi noticed about her. It always seemed that wherever she went, she must have sprinted in order to get there as fast as she did, or, in this case, told her pilot to go as fast as he could. Ah well, punctuality was good, wasn't it?

"Do you guys want to go to the Mushroom Diner?" Daisy asked her question to both brothers, but looked at only Luigi as she did so. She smiled at him and giggled quietly.

Mario rolled his eyes. What was she trying to do, flirt with him or something? She was one crazy lady…and anyways, it wasn't like Luigi and she weren't already going out…

"Yeah!" Luigi replied to her question enthusiastically. So whatever happened to him being so tired? It was like Daisy had some super power or something…

Mario didn't actually reply with words, but merely nodded. He got the feeling Daisy and Luigi had talked about this over the phone without his approval. If it were up to him, he would prefer to go to the 'Shroom Delight Restaurant. Now _that _place served good meals! It wasn't that the diner was bad, but it was just a back-up in case you got tired of the 'Shroom Delight. Mario had no plans of _that_ happening, though. He had always considered the 'Shroom Delight to be his favorite restaurant. In the Mario residence, food was very important, especially for Mario. When Mario ate, he wanted to make sure he was eating at the best restaurant and was eating a delicious meal. If he got a not-so-nice vibe from the restaurant and meal, he would feel not-so-nice afterwards. Peach, and Daisy, too, for that matter, never really cared where or what they ate, as long as they _did _eat. Yeah, they would prefer to eat something they _did _like rather than something they _didn't_, but it wasn't a big deal like Mario, and maybe Luigi, would make it.

"Alright then!" Daisy exclaimed, awfully jumpy. She seemed very excited about…something…

Without further delay, Luigi and Daisy at each other and walked out the front door, side by side. Again, Mario rolled his eyes. Were they trying to prove a point him that their relationship with each other was serious or something? He and Peach never got all 'cutesy' with each other. Mario always thought it was just…weird. Ah well, apparently 'weirdness' was Luigi's way to attract ladies…

Mario sighed to himself. Better get goin', Mario thought to himself as he stood up from the chair that he was sitting in all morning. He almost wished he didn't have to get up; he always said that the recliner was extremely comfortable…at least in his opinion.

The Mushroom Diner was oddly packed. That was one thing that Mario didn't like. Huge crowds had always made him feel uncomfortable…especially when he was crammed into a small place. Mario felt as though people purposely went to the diner that day just to make him feel even worse…_great_…

"Would you three please follow me?" A Toadette waitress asked, leading them to one of the nearby tables in the center of the room. Again, Mario was disappointed. He had never really liked sitting at tables. There was an open booth right next to them, why couldn't the Toadette have led them there? What, was _she _in on the plan to help make Mario's day miserable, too?

"Do you know what you would like to drink?" The Toadette asked, smiling at the three.

All of them merely ordered a glass of water. The Toadette nodded, saying, "I'll bring your dinks over in a minute, okay?" With that, she walked off towards a nearby booth, asking three Toads what they wanted for breakfast - err - _brunch_.

"You know what?" Daisy asked, acting a little more serious than she was when she arrived at Mario's home.

"No…what?" Mario asked, curious as to why Daisy wasn't actually saying something stupid, telling a joke, or flirting with Luigi as she generally would. It almost seemed as though she had a random mood swing. Not the kind of mood swing when someone's telling you that they love you, and then the next moment they're screaming and fighting with you. No, not that type at all. It was more or less that she was energetic and happy, and then something just made her…not-so-happy…

"Peach seemed really worked up when I stopped by her castle on the way your house…she barely had any time to notice I was there…" Daisy's tone of voice seemed nervous.

"I hope she's okay…" Luigi started, "She's never been in such a tight situation like this before…"

Mario nodded, agreeing with his brother. It _was _true though; generally Peach planned for something like this so she even had time to spare…, "I hope she has time to get the party in order…"

"Yeah…" Daisy said, looking at Mario, and then at Luigi, "She's acting really rushed. Do you think she'll have the party done in time? Do you think anything will go wrong?"

Mario looked down at the red and white checkered table cloth that lay upon the table, "I don't know, Daisy…I guess we'll just have to wait and see…"


	5. The Party Begins

I'm sorry that this one is shorter than the others (but still not by much), but you can expect the next couple of chapters to come pretty fast. So, enjoy!

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 4-The Party Begins**

It was the night of the party. Peach was eagerly waiting in the ballroom as guests poured in and found their seats. The princess smiled to herself; she had pulled it off! The entire party was set up without any mistakes…or at least so she thought.

She began to daydream two days back. She remembered screaming at Toads and Toadettes, throwing random fits and mood swings, and getting the sensation she was going to have a heart attack. The reason for that was her stress and nervousness. It was the kind of feeling you would get when you had to give a speech to huge crowds of people…but ten times that…

Peach began to smile. It seemed almost funny to her as she reflected upon her past occurrences. Maybe she had gotten just a bit over-worked? Really though, it wasn't that anything bad would happen if the party wasn't perfect, right? Ooh, so maybe a few people would feel a little uncomfortable; it wasn't a big deal.

Daisy certainly wouldn't have gotten so stressed, Peach thought. Daisy was always one of those laid-back kinds of people. She generally didn't give herself a lot of time in advance, but then again, she stayed oddly calm even when she was rushed. If only Peach could inherit that trait…

The princess glanced up on stage. Most of the 'important people' were on the stage as of yet. The Toad band was preparing to play their music after Peach' s speech, which, compared to the stress she had gone through while setting up the party, was no big deal.

The speech and party would start in about ten minutes. People of all different species were taking their seats. Even Yoshi and Birdo were there, as well as some classic Mario enemies that Peach had become friends with over the years; these included Koopas, Goombas, Shyguys, Hammer Bros, Bob-Ombs, and even a pair of Chain Chomps. Peach trusted them so much that she even let one of the Goombas be the 'bouncer', who was still standing outside the door holding his giant list of party guests.

It was time…it was time to actually announce the beginning of the party. Peach felt so amazed it began to feel like a dream to her. Was the party actually going to begin? It took all that work to set up the entire thing, and now…this was her chance! This was her chance to show off everything she had worked over the past two days.

The princess scaled the small steps up to the stage. Everyone quieted down, and the Goomba bouncer walked in, shut and locked the front door, and sat on a nearby seat.

Peach looked out at the faces staring up at her. Suddenly she became very nervous. _Great_…If this were a cartoon, the classic sound of crickets chirping at night would be heard…but obviously, this was no cartoon…, "Umm…I'd like to thank you all for coming! As you all probably know, I'm celebrating my 33rd birthday tonight…"

Peach paused as everyone mildly clapped. She almost wished the clapping wouldn't end…not because she wanted to feel good about herself or anything, but because she wasn't entirely sure what to say next. Should she keep talking? What about? Oh, this was painful…, "Well…I uhh…don't really have much to – umm – say…," Peach began hoping that she wasn't sound stupid with the constant 'umms' and 'uhhs'. Well, she never really _was _a good public speaker, but she had hoped she was going to do better than this…

Everyone was staring up at her. It looked as though each and every person was thinking 'well aren't you going to talk'. To make matters even worse, Peach couldn't try to imagine everyone in their underwear either…unless Chain Chomps, Goombas, and Bob-Ombs wore underwear…now _that _would be weird. Peach smiled to herself. It would be funny, too. Maybe she really _could _find the strength to speak in front of a large crowd…, "But I'd like to thank all of you that had supported me over the years, and my Toads and Toadettes for working extremely hard and getting this party put together in time. And most importantly, everyone up on stage for making an impact on m-,"

Peach froze as she turned around to look at everyone standing on the stage. All had gone so well…but now…there was a big problem. The party had seemed so perfect; Peach didn't think there were any flaws, whatsoever. But she was wrong…there certainly _was_ a flaw…there was a _big _flaw…

There was no Mario…


	6. A Surprising Attack

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 5-A Surprising Attack**

If Peach got her hands on Mario, he would certainly be dead. Come to think of it, though, Peach might have a heart attack and die first, just out of anger. So it's just a choice of who's going to die…

Most people were completely baffled by Peach's actions. They had confused looks on their faces, and some of them were whispering to each other about why Peach had stopped. It was one of times where you found yourself waiting and waiting, but what you were waiting for never came…

Luigi, however, understood why Peach was in high distress. Well, he _was _Mario's brother…The funny thing was, though, that Luigi and Mario departed their house at separate times…so could Mario just be held up in traffic? What traffic? By the look of it, the entire Mushroom Kingdom crowded itself into Peach's ballroom…this caused Luigi to try and come up with a different conclusion. Did Mario get in an accident? That wouldn't be good…Well, it would certainly explain why Mario wasn't present at the occasion. Is Mario…dead? Luigi asked himself, swallowing hard and looking around the ballroom. Luigi felt like it couldn't possibly happen: Mario…dead? He almost wanted to ask Daisy to pinch him to see if he was dreaming…

Peach began to speak again. She started off slowly, almost as though she wasn't entirely sure what to say, but gradually, she became comfortable again. Every couple of seconds she would pause to curse at Mario in her mind. Then, she would need to take a deep breath just so she didn't get out of control.

Everyone not on stage was still a bit confused. Yeah, she began to speak again, but what was the deal with the whole deep breaths? Was her asthma acting up? Did she even have asthma…? Ah, well, it didn't really matter…right?

Luigi's thoughts of a dead Mario were fortunately wrong. Mario wasn't lying dead in his car after running a red light. Certainly not; Mario would know better. It wouldn't be like him to run a red light or even a stop sign. He was a very careful driver…a _very _careful one. Most of the times he even obeyed the speed limit! If the sign said only to go 25, Mario would only be going 25. On most occasions, Mario found himself leading a pack of cars that were honking their horns at him, urging him to go faster…

Mario was outside the castle, looking through one of the windows. An onlooker outside of the castle would surely be wondering why some man was looking through the window and not actually inside at the party. Either something went wrong, or Mario's just afraid of Chain Chomps or something…

He could see Peach talking, but had no idea what she was saying. He began to get a nervous sensation. It was the kind of feeling you got when you knew something bad was going to happen, but you didn't know what or when. Well, Mario knew the 'what' part about it; he wasn't inside at Peach's party, so Peach would want to kill him. As for 'when', he was just hoping that it wouldn't be anytime soon…or when he is eating a good meal or something…

Even Mario's legitimate excuse would certainly not be excused by Peach. Under any circumstances, she expected him to be at the party. Gee, even if he was in the hospital Peach would be angry…well, maybe she's not _that _bad…

Peach's speech was coming to an end, and the Toad band was prepared to play their music, which had been scheduled immediately after Peach would stop talking. Well, maybe it was just another red herring: Peach's speech would always _sound _like it was going to stop, but then she would just think of something else to talk about. This caught the Toad band off guard many times.

So what ever happened to Peach 'not having much to say'? Uh huh…_sure_…Mario was right: when Peach started speaking, she could go on for a long time, even if it _was _public speaking such as this…

"Thank you all!" Peach finished, waving to the crowd as she moved towards the steps. She had pulled this off, too! It seemed that everything was going perfectly for her…except the fact that Mario was still not present. What a jerk! How _dare _he not come to my birthday party, Peach thought.

_BAM! _A loud gunshot reverberated throughout the castle. The guests began screaming loudly, rushing towards the front door to the castle. People were toppling over one another…doing anything they could to survive…

_BAM! _A second gunshot was heard!

_BAM! _A third!

Peach and everyone still on stage were being escorted into a different room by Toadsworth, who appeared to be extremely nervous and scared. He found it quite surprising that he didn't have a heart attack right then and there. He must have been one brave Toad…

Peach glanced behind her, watching the last of the guests rush out of the ballroom. Well, the last of those people who were _alive_…


	7. Investigating the Murder

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 6-Investigating the Murder**

From outside, Mario had still heard the three gunshots. As soon as everyone had cleared out of the ballroom, Mario walked over to the open front door. He was a bit curious as to what happened inside, and despite the fact that there still could be a person wielding a gun in the ballroom, Mario still decided to check it out.

Mario had always been a curious person. Once he was eavesdropping on a few ladies for being 'mysterious', as he put it. He wound up misunderstanding what the ladies were talking about and came up with a crazy story that they were murders; in reality, they were _talking_ about murderers. He then took several hours out of his day testifying to the police that these completely innocent ladies were cold-blooded killers! And that was all caused by Mario's curiosity! He surely wouldn't forget _that _time…

Once in the ballroom, he glanced around. Birthday banners and balloons were scattered on the ground, and tables and chairs were knocked over. The first thing Mario took note of was _two dead bodies_. The first was the Goomba bouncer who was positioned by the door. It looked as though the bullet hit him directly in the heart. As for the second, it was Toadario who was murdered, one of the Toads up on stage.

Mario heard mumbling and faint voices coming from a nearby room. Again Mario's curiosity was getting to him. For all he knew, the murderer and any of his accomplices could have been the ones talking, putting his life at risk again! Ah well, Mario was definitely adventurous, and can generally manage to make his way out of even the tightest situations.

Luckily, it was only Peach, Luigi, Daisy, Toadsworth, Toadiko, Toadbert, and Toadetta. They all had dreadful expressions on their faces, all of them reading 'this is scary'.

"Mario!" Peach yelled, "Where _were _you?!" It seemed as though her thoughts completely trailed off of the fact that someone was just shooting. If anyone would look at her, it would seem that she was madder at Mario than worried about the murders.

"I'm…sorry Peach…" Mario apologized. He braced himself for whatever Peach planned to do to him. Murder him? Make him apologize a million times?

Everyone else in the room still seemed completely horrified, however. It's not everyday that you're being shot at…not everyday at all. Everyone had wished that the classic 'pinch me, I think I'm dreaming' phrase would come into play right about then. It was so crazy to think that there was a murder in the Mushroom Kingdom. The Mushroom Kingdom was always filled with joy and happiness. A murder – _two _murders – wouldn't exactly be considered joyous…

"You're sorry?!" Peach yelled, "That's all you can say in a time like this?!"

Mario swallowed hard. Well, he wasn't very surprised that Peach was this angry. He had expected her to kill him by now, though. Either she didn't want him to die, or she just couldn't find a weapon. Ah well, he was alive, and that was good enough, "I _do _have a hopefully legitimate excuse…"

Peach didn't reply, but merely glared at him. Mario didn't like that look…not at all. The look she gave him was so powerful he might just drop dead right then and there. Now _that _wouldn't be good…

"I wasn't on the list…" Mario mumbled.

Peach looked like she was going to throw a fit, "Whaddaya mean you weren't on the list?! You were the first person on there! You did go by your real name, didn't you?"

Now it was Mario's turn to become angry, "What do you think I am…a secret agent?! I don't have some secret identity!" Generally this was how most fights of Mario's and Peach's would start…Peach would start screaming, and then Mario would join in. Any onlookers of the fight, and in this case there were many, would expect both of them to explode out of sheer anger. Well, if Peach exploded, it wouldn't be _that _bad; she _did _get quite annoying. As for Mario, though…he was the hero of the Mushroom Kingdom! If he died, the whole Mushroom Kingdom would die with him!

"We-well I don't get it!" Peach squealed, looking down at the ground in frustration. All she kept thinking was: Mario's name was on the top of list…by the time Mario arrives, Mario's name is not on the list? Ah, this is so confusing!

"Neither do I…" Mario confessed. It looked as though he were thinking hard about something…most likely the reason why he wasn't on the list. Did any of it make any sense? Well, since when does Mario's life actually make sense…?

"But wait a second…" Peach thought of something, "Why didn't you just walk right past him and just get my approval that you _were _aloud at the party?"

Mario shook his head, "I tried, but since I arrived late, he locked the doors as soon as I made my attempt…" Mario was hoping she wouldn't get too mad over the fact that he arrived late. He managed to side-step one thing…but not this. This time, it _was _his fault. Oh no…

Luckily, at least for Mario, Peach didn't pay the slightest attention to that. He was quite shocked, really. Well, maybe she _did _pay attention to that but didn't want to start another fight? Ah well, Mario just felt relieved that she didn't bite his head off, as he put it – yet…

"Well this really is quite a mystery…" Peach remarked. Now it was _her _turn to think hard about something, "You know what?"

Mario sighed. He _hated _it when people did that. They would take the time to say things like 'you know what' or 'wait a minute', but they would never actually say _what_ was so interesting. It always drove him crazy, especially when people did it _all the time_…

"I think the killer was shooting at me…" Peach said. It looked as though she were about to break down and flood the whole room with tears. And, well…she did. This made Mario think of the time when one of her gerbils died and she locked herself in her room and used an entire box of Kleenex. She began to cry and her hands began to tremble almost as though they were vibrating; it looked as though you were playing a videogame and your controller began to shake…

"But that wouldn't explain why he had shot at the Goomba bouncer who was half way across the ballroom…" Mario pointed out, hoping this statement would relieve her stress. The last thing he wanted her to think was that it was _her _life the murderer wanted to take away…

"But…" Peach began, but didn't actually think of anything to say. It seemed as though she _wanted _to disagree, but, deep down, she really _did _agree, "Poor Toadario…"

"I know…" Mario agreed, sighing and shaking his head, "Why was it _his _life the murderer had to take?"


	8. Staying at the Castle

I'm sorry for the long wait. It's just that family had been over several days after the Fourth of July and I didn't find much time to write. On the bright side, this is the longest chapter yet and you can expect another update (hopefully) as soon as tomorrow night or some time on Sunday. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 7-Staying at the Castle**

The police were called immediately after. A thorough examination of the ballroom had taken place, to maybe 'find some evidence' as one of the policemen put it. In addition, the two dead bodies were taken away from the castle (their not exactly the kind of things you would want in your home…), and interrogations were held. The interrogations were pretty much useless, thus, no further evidence turned up…_further _evidence? No, it would be more like '_any _evidence'. In Mario's opinion, the police were called much too late, which was mainly on Peach's behalf; if she hadn't been fighting with Mario, the police would have come and gone much earlier. Really though, who be so stupid as to call the police so long after the crime? Apparently _they _were...Once the police were gone, a conference was held.

"Do you think the murderer is still in the castle?" Peach asked using a soft voice, almost as though she didn't want the murderer to hear her if he really _was _still inside. She was now back at the state of being worried again, considering Mario _did _have a pretty good excuse.

"I dunno…" Mario started, looking out into the ballroom, "Maybe…" Mario shuddered as he spoke that last word; could the murderer still be prowling the grounds waiting for a shot at them? Would he come back later and kill Peach when she went to sleep? Uh oh…_that _wouldn't be good, "Ya know, I think I should stay overnight at the castle…"

Peach didn't speak. She seemed really frightened. Well, who could blame her? Considering that your life is on the chopping block isn't exactly one of those reassuring things…

"I could stay up all night in case the murderer comes back. Luigi, you could head back to the house…you don't have to stay here with me…you too, Daisy…"

Luigi shook his head, "No, I think I'll stay here, just in case you fall asleep…"

Mario was doubtful about that. There was no way Mario would fall asleep first, considering Luigi's sleeping habits have been screwed up ever since Daisy's pilot took the wrong course home. Because of that, he's been falling asleep exceptionally early…Mario wouldn't be surprised if Luigi fell asleep as soon as they took their post when Peach went to bed. Even if it _had _been Mario who was the one whose sleep had been disoriented, he _still _could have stayed up longer than Luigi. Gee, Mario once had to stay up for over one hundred hours on one of his adventures…Luigi would be lucky to stay up _half _of that. Overall, Luigi would most likely fall asleep first, no matter what the conditions.

"You don't have to do that, Mario…" Peach shook her head, "We have security systems and we lock all of the doors…" Peach didn't really think it was necessary for Mario to stay at the castle, even if she _was _that scared.

"No Peach…" apparently she hadn't taken into consideration a big factor: _what if the murderer was already inside the castle when she went to sleep? _Then, those locks and security systems would be pretty much useless. And even if the murderer _wasn't _in the castle and planned to be, Mario still never felt entirely safe. Again, and like his driving, this goes to show that Mario is a very careful person. _However_, Mario's curiosity can contradict his carefulness. Most times, Mario's curiosity means taking a big risk, and a lot of Mario's risks _aren't _safe…so maybe Mario isn't as careful as he thought…

Peach shook her head again. She was one risky girl, wasn't she? For someone who lives their life on being afraid, this was certainly a big step up. Mario could remember the time when he and Peach saw a horror movie and she made him stay at her castle to make sure some monster wasn't going to pop out of her closet…Mario really wanted to scare her during that night by _actually coming out of her closet_, but he didn't want to give her a heart attack. Now _that _would be a funny joke gone wrong…, "I don't want you to stay up all night…"

Mario sighed, "Alright, but at least let me sleep at your castle overnight to ensure that it's safe…" Mario didn't plan to take no for an answer this time. Even if she would refuse, he would insist. He didn't intend to let the princess be murdered…no, not at all.

"Okay…" Peach nodded and smiled, "Thanks…"

Mario let out a sigh. It wasn't the kind of sigh you would make when you failed your math test – which would be more like an 'oh no, my mother is gonna kill me' – but the kind to express that you're reassured. Basically, it was just a sigh of relief, "Luigi, do you still wish to stay?"

Luigi nodded; he wanted to protect the princess too. Well, only if there was action. Ah well, who is he kidding? He would be the kind of person to hide in the corner and hope that Mario won.

"What about you, Daisy?"

"I…" Daisy stopped and thought for a moment. Should she stay at this dreadful place and put her life at risk? Or should she go back to her hotel room and sleep in her comfortable bed with no worries or concerns? Not a tough choice…, "I think I'll go back to the hotel…"

Mario nodded, not entirely caring what she did, anyway. Ah well, he didn't even really want her to stay, anyway. She would be the kind of person to talk a midnight walk and leave the front door open for the murderer to get in…or, if she met up with the murderer, she would probably just scream obnoxiously like that of an 'over-actor' in a horror movie.

"Toadsworth?" Peach asked, looking at the exceptionally frightened Toad.

"Yes, princess?" Came the reply.

"Would you please show Mario and Luigi to their rooms?"

"Yes, of course…" And with that, Toadsworth found himself leading Mario and Luigi up the stairs. The two brothers exchanged nervous glances as they reached the top of the stairs, both of them reading 'could the murderer be up here'.

"Here you are, Luigi…" Toadsworth pointed to a room at the right, "Good night…"

Luigi made a nervous laugh, and then said his own words of departure. He sighed nervously as he shut the door. The first thing he did was to check the inside of the closets and beneath the bed for some guy wielding a gun. Luigi would have probably screamed if he actually _did _wind up seeing someone.

By now, Mario was also situated nervously in his room. Wow, this was odd for _Mario _to be nervous…generally things like this wouldn't have much of an impact on him, but this time, he didn't feel so safe. Maybe because he was not used to a murder in the Mushroom Kingdom? He wished this entire thing was just a dream, but he was quite certain that it wasn't…

It was almost midnight. Peach had fallen asleep as soon as she lay in her bed, almost as though she hadn't slept for days. Luigi fell asleep quite fast, as well, but actually had some time to enjoy the comfort of the bed before he dozed off. As for Mario, he was…still awake…he kept twisting and turning, but couldn't shake off the feeling that someone was in his room. He would even look around every couple of minutes to ensure he was alone. He felt like the main character in some horror movie; the person gets into bed, and then the closet door opens and someone with a knife robotically walks toward him…now _that _was a feeling Mario didn't like.

Afterwards, a good afterwards, Mario took his mind off of the thought that someone was inside his room. Mario felt much more relaxed, which wasn't really saying much, considering he was still nervous. And lastly, before all of Mario's worries were put aside and he drifted off to asleep, he could have swore he heard the sound of a window being smashed…


	9. Too Difficult of a Case

The chapter came a little later than I anticipated, but I actually wrote the entire thing today (generally I split it up between a few days). I may even write another one today or tomorrow, so expect the next update soon!

* * *

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 8-Too Difficult of a Case**

It seemed as though everyone woke up in sync. It's not that everyone actually _wanted _to wake up, it's just that they didn't want to get back to the dreadful reality…or they just wanted to finish that good dream they were having. _Good _dream? Was it even possible to have a good dream in a time like that? No, definitely not…right?

Well, there was certainly no good dream for Mario, unless a nightmare would be considered as such…The thing was, though, Mario _never _had nightmares, so it was a big change for him. Not the kind of change he would want to remember, though. Well, he _did _have nightmares before, but only a few times in his childhood days…like the time he watched his first horror movie. This dream, however, was much more violent. Mario dreamt that _he _was the killer and murdered Peach by _pushing her out of a window_. Gee, Mario sure had some pleasant dreams…

Luigi, somehow, _did _have at least a semi-good dream. 'Semi-good' was the key part there. Well, at least wasn't going around and murdering _Daisy_…

It was several hours after the groups awakening that they managed to find time and hold some sort of a talk. Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy, Toadiko, Toadbert, Toadsworth, and Toadetta crowded into the still messed up ballroom. Again, everyone thought this entire situation to be a dream…it was too terrible to be true. At first, everyone just seemed to be glancing around at each other, almost as if they wanted somebody, _any_body, to talk…

Well, why not let Peach break the ice? She was generally good at starting conversations…but not very good at ending them…, "Mario? You're a good detective…you can solve the case…"

Mario _hated _it when Peach would refer to him as a detective. He didn't want anybody to get the wrong impression of him…ah well, it didn't really matter. However, just because he was good at solving cases, as he's done it many times in the past, doesn't make him a top-notch sleuth. Maybe she was trying to hint to him that he _should _become a detective? Well, if that _was _the case, her wishes weren't coming true anytime soon…, "Well…this particular case seems to be…a bit confusing…"

"Don't be so modest…" Peach said, "You'll know that you'll solve the case…just like always!"

Mario sighed. Why doesn't _Peach _try and solve something for a change? She had always _claimed _she was a straight A student in school, so why doesn't she try and show off that intelligence and stop trying to make somebody else do it? She was really becoming a jerk over the past few days…

"C'mon…think!" Peach tried to encourage him, but she only got a glare in return. It was never good when Mario gave someone 'the glare'; it either meant that Mario didn't have a good meal for lunch, or that you were very close to death…

"Okay…"Mario finally gave in, "Now let me think…"

Silence settled over the room. Everyone's eyes were fixed on Mario as he just…stood there. It was boring…a few of them almost wanted to tell him to think faster, but what could happen of they interrupted his train of thought? Would he have to start all of his thinking over again? Now _that _was something they didn't want…

It had been almost five minutes of waiting now, and some of them were getting the sensation that someone had hit the 'off' button on him…it would have been better if the 'off' button was on _Peach_; she _never _shuts up…

"Okay…" Mario announced. He wouldn't have been surprised if a few people had forgotten what they had even been talking about…, "First, I think we should go over why my name wasn't on the list…"

"Peach, are you sure you didn't forget to put Mario on there?" Toadsworth asked. It made him think of the time when Peach had hosted some ceremony and she forgot to put Mario's name on the list. He and Peach had gotten into a huge fight, similar to that of the previous night, except it was much more violent, it lasted longer, and you would want to consider offering Peach some anger management classes. Toadsworth wouldn't have been surprised if that was just the case again…

"Yes, I'm sure! I think I would know if _Mario _was on there!" She made Toadsworth sound like he was some old fool. Maybe it was _Peach _who was the fool…

"And the weird thing was…, "Luigi started, actually getting a say in the conversation, "_I _was on the list…"

"Yes…" Mario agreed with his brother, which was quite odd. Usually he would disagree and would start quarrelling, but he didn't really want to start _another _fight, "Peach, can you say for an absolute fact that you remember putting my name on the list?"

Peach nodded, but didn't speak. She feared that anything she said might be the start of a screaming match. That was the _last _thing they needed in a time like that. Especially considering that Peach screaming would probably cause a few people to go deaf…

"Okay, do you still have the list?" Mario asked, keeping his fingers crossed that she didn't think of it to be a useless piece of junk and throw it out. She would be the kind of person to do that…

"Yes, I think I know where it is…" She disappeared and reappeared in a flash. She didn't plan to waste any time dilly-dallying. For all they knew, the murderer could be half-way to Donut Plains by now…

Everyone huddled over each other to see the list. It was a quite uncomfortable few seconds, and you would probably find yourself asking the person behind you to give you some breathing room…

"What?!" Peach shrieked, "You're not on here!" Either the name had been removed from the list, or Peach was just going crazy. Well, she was _already _crazy. It made her think of the time when she called the police because she thought that there was a murderer outside of her castle. She kept spreading rumors and even had an article put in the newspaper that there was a murderer about. It turned out that it was only her gardener…

"I bet someone took you off of it…" Daisy pointed out the obvious. She was generally good at doing that, except it always annoyed people.

"The murderer, no doubt…" Toadiko managed to say in the midst of the talking and confusion.

Mario nodded, "I just don't get it…" It wasn't common to hear Mario say something like that…generally only out of complete desperation would he say something such as that. Was this case too difficult for Mario?

"But Mario!" Peach whined, "This case isn't _nearly_ as difficulty as the Poshley Heights case!"

"Yeah…" Mario said, "But _you _solved that one…"

"Oh yeah…" And maybe Peach had memory loss, too. This girl was falling apart at the scenes! What would be next? Would she park her car at the wrong castle? Hopefully not…Gee, she was sure having a rough time.

"Are you saying that you can't solve the case?" Toadiko looked at Mario. What, was she trying to make him feel even _worse _that he couldn't figure out what was going on?

"Yes…I guess I am…"

"Well…" Toadiko started. What did she have up her sleeve? Hopefully she had found some clue everyone had overlooked. Or a vital piece of information that no one caught onto. Everyone looked at her anxiously, eager as to what she was going to say. Mario almost wanted to slap her if she didn't come out with it already! "I know a detective…and I think we should give him a call. He might figure something out that _we _didn't…"


	10. Getting the Scoop

Well, the new chapters finally here! I was pretty much just unmotivated to write, so hopefully that will change...

* * *

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 9-Getting the Scoop**

"Good idea," Mario nodded his head, "Give him a call!"

"Me?" Toadiko asked, glancing around. The tone in Toadiko's voice made Mario sound as though he were crazy. It's not like he asked her to jump off the roof of the castle or anything…

Mario nodded, "Well, _you're _the one who knows him…,"

"Of course…how silly of me…"

"Let's go sit down…" Mario said as he watched as the Toadette disappeared up the stairs to make the phone call. Who was this detective guy, anyway? For all they knew, he could be some crazed lunatic that Toadiko made friends with when she was drunk at a bar or something…

The entire group moved into an adjacent room to sit down. Well, if you're going to talk about a murder, why not be comfortable in the meantime? While Mario was debating whether or not this detective could be trusted, the sound of incessant pounding on the front door was heard. Either someone was quite eager to tell one of them something, or they just needed to use the bathroom…

Everyone glanced around at each other. Apparently no one really had that desire to go and open the door. There was one problem though: _the knocking wouldn't end_. It was enough to drive someone crazy, even though half the people in the room were _already _a bit loopy.

"I'll get it…" Toadetta sighed, disappearing into another room.

Silence settled over the room…again. Everyone's glances shifted from one person to another, almost to say 'well aren't you going to speak'. It reminded everyone of the many other times when silence was the only thing that could be heard. Well, not actually _heard_…

Peach (of course), was the person to start the conversation. She had always _hated _silence, and would enjoy any situation much more if there was a lively conversation rather than peace and quiet, "It's a good thing that the murderer didn't come back last night…"

A sudden light sparked in Mario's mind. He practically scared a few people half to death as he jumped up and said "Oh!". He was quite surprised Toadsworth didn't have a heart attack right then and there. Now _that _wouldn't be good…

"What?" Toadbert asked, a bit curious as to what the plumber had to say. Either Mario had a clue to the case, or he just remembered that he left the roast in the oven…

"Now that Peach said that, I just remembered hearing the sound of a window being smashed last night…" Mario glanced over to Peach, who had a semi-horrified expression on her face.

Each person let out their own gasp. The thought that the murderer was in the castle when they went to bed wasn't exactly a relaxing thought. Again Mario expected to see Toadsworth dead on the floor, but again the old Toad managed to survive this new revelation.

Poor Toadsworth…he was certainly having a bad day today. He woke up an hour and a half earlier than he usually did, he missed his favorite TV show, and now he just had two near-death experiences…

"Umm…Mario?" Toadetta came back into the room, "There are a few reporters outside that want a word with you…"

Mario let out an annoyed sigh. He had always hated it when he would get flooded with reporters after each of his adventures, so he wasn't exactly looking forward to the upcoming events. He began to reflect upon the time when he had once locked himself inside his house to avoid contact with an obnoxious group of people that were flinging questions at him left and right. One of the impatient and short-tempered reporters even tried to break one of Mario's windows by throwing a rock at it…

As soon as Mario stepped out of the castle, a horde of people swarmed in front of him, demanding answers for the explanation of this and that:

"Who do you think the murderer is?"

"Do you think they were aiming at Peach?"

"Do you think he'll strike again?"

"How did the murderer get in the castle?"

"Do you know where the murderer is now?"

But there was one question that stood out amongst the rest:

"How come you weren't at the party?"

Now how did that reporter know that Mario wasn't at the party? Gee, these reporters knew everything, didn't they? Mario didn't really know why they _needed _to ask questions; it seemed as though they already understood the entire case inside-out! It was quite odd, yes…, "You knew that I wasn't inside at the party?"

"Yes…now don't you have an answer?" The reporter, who appeared to be a female Goomba, asked. She seemed a bit snobbish, in Mario's opinion.

Before he had a chance to answer, Peach opened the front door and went outside. She immediately took position next to Mario and eyed up the Goomba girl that stood before them.

"I, umm…" Mario began to answer the reporter's question, but stopped. She stared at him blankly; maybe he just couldn't think of the right words to say?

No, that was certainly not the reason for Mario's sudden hiatus. The real reason behind it was that he didn't find it necessary for her to know such information. The fact that his name was not on the list would answer one of their questions, but only make a hundred more…

"Well…?"

"Maybe he doesn't want to answer!" Peach said, a bit angry.

The Goomba girl was a bit taken back, at first (as were all of the other reporters), but she wasn't going to give up without a fight…literally…, "Oh princess…," The Goomba girl said, smiling, "Why must you be such a fool when you're not being talked to? Is it the attention you want? Or are you trying to stick up for Mario to help repay him for all of the times when you've been pathetically kidnapped by Bowser?"

Now it was Peach's turn to be taken back. She even managed to work a tear out of her eye. For a matter of fact, _Mario _was quite shocked, as well. Did she really just say that to a _princess_?! Peach may be a bit whacky at times, but she didn't deserve this verbal abuse…especially considering that the stupid Goomba said it in front of over thirty people that would be ranting and raving to the public that someone was daring enough to humiliate the princess and nearly put her into tears…

At this point, Mario just wanted to disappear. This girl was rude…_very _rude…


	11. Meeting the Detective

I'm sorry for the extremely long wait. I was mainly stuck at a writer's block, but now that that's cleared up, hopefully I will be able to write more. I hope you guys didn't forget about this story, because I can certainly say that I ddn't...

And also, to satisfy Eventryraven's (sorry if I spelled your name wrong) curiosity, the Poshley Heights case is, as a matter of fact, one of my other stories.

* * *

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 10-Meeting the Detective**

After a few more minutes of ever-so-reluctantly talking to the reporters, Mario (and also Peach) made their way back into the castle. It's not that they actually _wanted _to satisfy the needs of the reporters (mainly that darn Goomba girl), but they found it to be the only solution to escape the constant questions.

"Mario?" Toadiko asked, coming down the stairs after the recent phone call. Why did she even need to go up the stairs anyway? It's not like all of the phones were broken on the ground floor or anything…maybe she was just trying to get in her exercise for the day…, "The detective said that you can go see him in his office now. It's on Mushroom Drive at thefar end of the road, so it's within walking distance…"

"Isn't the detective supposed to come to the place of the crime? Why are _we _supposed to go _there_?" Mario complained. So what, did the guy just plan for them to take pictures of the ballroom and bring them down for him to take a look? What kind of detective was this?

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing…" Toadiko replied, "I asked him about it and he told me that he had some reason, but he wouldn't tell me what. He just said 'let's leave it at that',"

This detective seemed like a strange one…hopefully he wasn't as useless as he sounded. Mario wouldn't have been surprised if this guy was some very-far-from-earth idiot that didn't know the difference between circles and squares, "Peach, do you wanna come with me?"

"Yes…I do…"

"And I think it would be best if Daisy and I came as well…" Luigi butted in.

Mario nodded reluctantly at Luigi. Luigi had that reputation of doing stupid things, so Mario wasn't generally overjoyed at his brother's presence. Ah well, it's not like he would jump on top of a table and start a conga line or anything…

As Toadiko had mentioned, the detective's office really _was _within walking distance. The four mounted a small set of steps that led to the detective's office and knocked on the door quietly.

Almost instantaneously, the door opened, revealing a Hammer Bro.

"So you're the detective?" Mario said, sticking out his hand to exchange handshakes.

"No…" Replied the Hammer Bro, shaking Mario's hand "I'm Hamma, the detective's assistant …" The Hammer Bro seemed completely normal and didn't appear to be some loony in any instance. Maybe it wasn't going to be as bad as everyone thought…

Once everyone finished introducing themselves, they walked into the office, eager to meet the _real _detective. Was he another Hammer Bro? A Bob-Omb? The anxiety was too great to handle…

"You have come…" Said a Goomba sitting behind a desk. Was _this _the detective, or just another assistant?

"And you are…?" Daisy asked, looking at the old Goomba that sat before them. Daisy wasn't entirely sure whether or not she wanted this to be the detective. The Goomba looked utterly clueless, almost as though he were constantly asking 'what is going on'.

"I am Detective Goom,"

So _this _was the detective Toadiko was ranting and raving about? A Goomba?! Well, so much for actually _solving _the case…with this guy roaming around, searching for clues, they'd get nowhere! He'd probably spend half of the time trying to find the glass of water he left his false teeth in…

"You called me just at the right time, because I'm going on vacation tomorrow…" Said the detective. _Great_…so now he's going on vacation?! What kind of detective was this? It was doubtful that he would solve the case in _only a day_…Ah well, even if they gave him three months he'd probably spend the entire time trying to figure out who the victims were…

"Vacation?" Mario asked, "What about this case?"

"Well," Said the detective, "I was actually supposed to go tonight, but when you guys called, I figured I'd push it off till tomorrow…"

"But…" Peach started, glancing around at the others, "That's gives you only _one day_!"

Now it was the detective's turn to glance around. He seemed almost confused. Oh great, it certainly wasn't good when the _detective _looked completely baffled…

"Yeah!" Daisy agreed with Peach's last statement, "There's no way you can solve this case in only that amount of time!"

Again the detective said nothing, but merely continued to look at them like they had all gone mad. What, did Mario grow another head or something…? "Well…I suppose your right, so you better show be the car and exactly where the crime took place…"

"…The car?" Daisy asked. Did this guy have memory loss or something? Was the last thing he remembered hearing was somebody saying that they were going to take him for a ride in their new car or something? Well, it would certainly explain why he was babbling on about a _car_. Or maybe he was just trying to pull a fast one on them? Was it a test to see if the four were complete idiots?

"Yeah…" Detective Goom replied, "I was told that you needed me to find who put a large dent and scratch in your car…"

At that moment, the four all concluded that this guy was entirely crazy. Where did he come up with that crazy idea?! A car wasn't even _involved _with the case!

"Uh, Mr. Goom?" Peach started, looking at him as though he were insane. Well, at this point, he practically _was _insane…, "You do realize that the case we want you to solve in a _murder_, right?"

The detective looked astonished. It was the kind of expression you would expect to see when someone's winning lottery ticket was just ripped in half, "Oh my…"

Mario glanced at him awkwardly. The plumber wasn't entirely sure what was going on. Nothing seemed to be making sense…it felt to him as though he were trying to solve a jigsaw puzzle with his eyes closed; he hadn't the slightest idea of what of piece of information went where, let alone what the big picture looked like…, "Detective Goom…I would like you to tell me more about this vacation of yours…"

The expression he made on his face made him look almost as though he were reluctant to talk. But after a moment's hesitation and a deep breathe, he began to speak, "Well, as I had said earlier, I was supposed to leave tonight…"

"Yes…" Mario began, "And where are you going?"

Detective Goom's eyes darted from left to right, "To Yoshi's Island…isn't it just so beautiful there?"

Mario nodded his head and smiled internally; this detective was right about _something_…, "Anything else you'd wish to add?"

Detective Goom though for a moment, "Well, Hamma is staying here for the days that I'm gone…and, well, that's about it…"

Again, Mario nodded. His questions didn't seem to be getting him anywhere. He had hoped _some _type of clue would emerge from the conversation, but at the moment, there was no luck.

"Why do you think we weren't told about the real case?" Hamma asked, breaking the silence that had settled over the room. That was certainly a good point he had brought up…

"I…I dunno…" Mario murmured. If anyone were to look at him, they would get the impression that he was trying to solve the most difficult brain teaser in history. In reality, he had just placed himself in deep thought about the case: Had Toadiko deliberately lied about the case? Why would she do such a thing? Well, one thing one for sure; if she was trying to keep Detective Goom from leaving the Mushroom Kingdom, she was doing an excellent job…


	12. Detective Goom's Investigation

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 11-Detective Goom's Investigation**

"So…I'm confused…" Daisy said after a moment's silence. At this point, _everyone _was confused. It's not everyday that one of your friends lies about a murder case…not everyday at all…

"None of this is making sense…" Hamma muttered, looking down at the ground with a perplexed expression on his face. There were so many things that needed explaining, nobody knew where to start!

"I suppose you should investigate now?" Mario asked, pointing at Detective Goom. The Goomba blinked at him, but said nothing at that moment. By the expression on his face, one might establish that someone had just told him to jump off a bridge…

"I-I guess so…" Detective Goom stammered, getting up from his chair reluctantly. He moved slowly in the direction of the door, almost as though he feared that there was some monster outside. So what, was Mario going to have to coax this guy to move faster by luring him out the door with a hamburger?

Everyone's eyes were fastened on him as he made his way towards the door. It was painful to watch…Daisy thought she was going to have a fit if this guy wouldn't pick up the pace a little bit. Even Hamma looked at him awkwardly; apparently moving a tenth of a mile per hour wasn't his normal walking speed…

After a short while, the detective stopped, sighed, and then walked normally out the door, followed by the other five. Now _that _wasn't something you'd see everyday…

They reached the castle in only a few minutes. Throughout the entire walk, the detective seemed awfully jumpy. Something definitely was not right…

Toadbert welcomed the group by opening the front door for them. As soon as everyone was inside, Mario immediately summoned Toadiko into the sitting room.

"Would you two be kind enough to wait in here?" Mario pointed to Detective Goom and Hammer Bro as soon as he saw the Toadette coming down the stairs.

Both of them complied, and began looking around to 'make a tremendous breakthrough in the case', as Detective Goom put it. Mario doubted that entirely, though…

Mario led Peach, Luigi, Daisy, and the ever-so-confused Toadiko into the sitting room and shut the door behind them.

"What's this all about?" Toadiko asked curiously, glancing around from person to person. She felt as though she was in some interrogation, and, well, she _was_…

"Why did you lie and tell Detective Goom about a completely different case?" Mario questioned, looking Toadiko straight in the eye. To his surprise, she didn't look nervous in the slightest…if _Mario _had done such a thing, he would be shifting around uncomfortably and speak in a worried tone…

"I don't know what you're talking about," She said flatly, as though she truly had no idea about what they were speaking of. But Mario knew better than to believe what she had said, and most certainly wasn't going to take that as an answer.

"We know that you didn't tell him about the murder, so don't even try to deny to it,"

Toadiko shook her head, "Poor, poor Mario…you really don't have a clue about what you're talking about, do you?"

"Wh-What do you mean?"

"You know that I wouldn't lie about the case like how you think I am…" Toadiko smiled at him. It wasn't a friendly and generous smile, however. It was more like an unpleasant grin to express that 'you have no proof, and you know it'.

"I refuse to listen to you!" Mario said angrily, irritated with the Toadette's incompetent behavior. If he was alone in that room, he'd consider strangling that obnoxious girl…aw well, it would be better if Mario _wasn't _known as a killer…

Toadiko ignored him; she was certainly not going to accept his accusations…, "_However_, if I _am _involved with the case, like you think, the last thing you'd want to do is exactly what you _are _doing: getting in my way…"

Toadiko walked passed him and left the room. She had led Mario at a loss of words; by the sound of it, she was practically implying that she _was _involved…

"You think she's involved?" Peach asked, looking at the much-in-awe Mario.

He nodded, a look of complete certainty on his face, "Oh yes…she's _definitely _involved…"

Back in the ballroom, Detective Goom and Hamma were investigating. The detective glanced at Mario and spoke, "I was told by some helpful Toad that Mario wasn't present at the party. Is this true?

"Yes," Mario answered while entering the room, the other three behind him. Mario had hated it whenever someone would bring up that event…he wasn't entirely sure why, but that certain something made an awkward impact on his life…

"Interesting…" Detective Goom muttered, looking around the spacious room. By the looks of it, he had no clue what was going on. Well, at least he hadn't forgotten their names yet…

"So did you make some tremendous breakthrough in the case like you had promised?" Daisy asked, hoping that he found at least _something _that might lead them to the killer…

"Well…we're still working on that…" He mumbled miserably. Well, this detective was going to be useless…

"Will you guys please stand at the position when the shots were fired?" Hamma asked. Every complied; they weren't sure _why _they were doing this, but they might as well do _something _other than stand there and think about how not-so-useful this old guy was. If Detective Crazy-Goomba had asked them, they would have flung questions at him left and right, but it might be useful to listen to a sensible person…

Mario stood off to the side…he couldn't exactly find his spot when he wasn't even _at _the party. Well, he _could _stand his position…if they really wanted him to go out tramp all over Peach's rosemary bushes…

As everyone took their positions, the perplexed Hammer Bro shook his head and sighed, "This is getting us anywhere. Where was Mario supposed to stand?"

Peach pointed to a seemingly random place on the ground. Again no clues had turned up. This was getting them absolutely nowhere…and with the detective leaving the following day to go on vacation, they were _never _going to solve the case. Ah well, maybe it would be better if the old Goomba wasn't around. For all they knew, he could be slowing them down!

Everyone appeared to be completely stumped. It was as if they had just ran smack into a wall and realized that there was no way of getting around it. The only thing they'd be able to tell those nosey and obnoxious reporters _now _is 'I got nothin'…


	13. The 'Shroom Delight

It's finally here! I'm sorry for not updating for like...forever, but with my vcation and unmotivation, I wasn't really eareg to write. Good news is though, is that I am now. I hope that I will get the next couple of chapters in at a quicker pace (It'd be nice to get 2-3 this week). I'm sure that you've probably thought that I quit on the fan fiction, but NEVER BELIEVE THAT. Even if I don't update for weeks, I WILL CONTINUE THE FAN FICTION, so PLEASE always trust that the new chapter will come. Anyways, enjoy!

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Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 12-The 'Shroom Delight**

It was several hours later. Detective Goom and Hamma had left, having found no clues, whatsoever. Apparently their 'tremendous breakthrough' plan wasn't going to be as successful as they had hoped…

Hamma _did _mention a few things of interest, though, and also had Mario and the others lead him to where the window had been smashed the night before. Detective Goom merely stood back and watched as his _assistant _did all the work. If an onlooker would have been watching this, they would have concluded that _Hamma _was the detective!

It was almost seven o'clock, and none of the four could escape the fact that they were hungry. Especially not Daisy, considering that every twenty minutes she would repeat that she was going to eat somebody's arm off…For someone who's so worried about gaining weight, she sure didn't _act _that way…

It had been decided not long after seven that it would be a great idea to 'break the natural routine and spend a night at a restaurant'. What restaurant, exactly? Well, _Mario _got to choose, and he certainly could not miss out on an opportunity to eat at the 'Shroom Delight…

One of the main reasons why Mario ever-so-loved that restaurant was because it was an _all you can eat pasta buffet_. Mario and 'pasta' always went well together, but it was always a fear that Mario would eat so much that he would just have a heart attack or something…

The group of four, consisting of Mario, Peach, Luigi, and Daisy, had reached the buffet at about seven-thirty. If it hadn't been for Peach demanding to fix her hair, they could have gotten there only a little after seven…

The place was fancy…_very _fancy, which Daisy admired. She had always loved extravagance, especially in restaurants. She was never fond of eating at a place that was small and wasn't quite up to her standards. _However_, she oddly _loved _the Mushroom Diner, even if it wasn't the cleanest place on Earth…

"Follow me, please…" The Birdo waitress said, as soon as she noticed that the group was in need of a seat.

"Could we have a booth?" Mario asked quickly, before she wound up sitting them at some boring table…

"Yep, one just opened," She said, smiling, turning around to lead them in the direction of the booth, "So you come here often?"

"I do…" Mario said, "And so does my girlfriend, Peach, and my brother Luigi…"

"Ah…" She nodded, glancing at Daisy, who was still shaking her head in response to the waitress's previous question, "Here we are…"

The group sat down. Mario smiled in excitement, acting as though he was sitting on a roller coaster that was about to start…Gee, it was only a restaurant…

"Drinks?" The waitress asked, looking at the group of four.

"Water for me…" Peach said quietly, glancing at the anxious Mario. It almost looked as though he were about to erupt from his seat and make a mad dash to the food area. Peach almost wanted to tell him to calm down…

"Water? Gotcha…"

"I guess I'll take water, too…" Luigi said, as soon as he realized that Mario was still busy thinking…or just too excited _to _think…He sure had a weird brother…

"Yeah, me too…" Daisy was third to reply. Generally she would've gotten something else, like an iced tea or something, was she just really wasn't in the mood…for that matter, it seemed as though she was _never _in the mood for anything recently…ever since that murder happened…

"I guess we'll all just have water…" Mario concluded, standing up from the table. He shoved Peach off the side of the booth so he could get out. He was one crazy guy…when it came to food…

It took only a few minutes for everyone to get their food and get back to the table. Mario was carrying two plates of spaghetti and a small plate filled with three pasta shells that were smothered in Alfredo sauce…

Luigi and Daisy actually managed to restrain themselves from fourtee- err – _three _plates of pasta, while Peach merely made herself up a plate of salad: her favorite food.

"So any ideas on the case?" Luigi asked to Mario as soon as everyone took their seats. The plumber didn't respond, however…either he just didn't hear him, or the slurping of pasta was drowning any voices out…

"Mario?" Luigi asked again, laughing a little. He actually thought that this was just some kind of joke that Mario was pulling on him to mock his love of pasta, but when Mario ate, you're going to have to wait for about an hour if you wanted to speak to him and get a response…

"MARIO!" Peach yelled, hitting his arm.

He choked a little on a mound of spaghetti he was eating at glanced at her, "What, Peach?"

"Luigi asked you a question!"

"Oh…" Mario said, rather sheepishly.

"I asked if you had any ideas on the case…" His brother said.

"Well, I have a feeling that Toadiko is involved…somehow…" Mario said, taking a bite of spaghetti. Luckily he wasn't eating like a maniac, so they could actually get some talking in…

"But why?" Daisy asked, a it confused. Well, _everyone _was confused, fort hat matter…

"I'm not sure yet…" Mario said, glancing down, "But don't you get that same impression from her?"

"Well, I didn't, until she said 'don't get in my way' or whatever…she practically confessed!"

"I know!" Peach said, rather loudly, which was quite unusual for the soft-spoken princess, "It was like she was mocking us!"

"Or she was getting worried…" Mario added quietly.

"Huh?!" Daisy blurted, "Why would you say that?!"

"Well…" Mario started, "A lot of times, criminals who know that they are starting to get caught, will actually _try _to fluster us and do stuff like that, out of complete nervousness,"

"Seriously?" Daisy asked, unsure of whether or not the plumber had a clue of what he was talking about…maybe the spaghetti was just getting to him…

"Yeah…"

"Wow, I never knew that…"

"Neither did I…" Peach agreed, glancing at her boyfriend, who began to eat his pasta at a more normal pace.

"How do you know all this, anyway?!" Daisy was quite curious as to why Mario had such knowledge. Maybe he really _should _be a detective…

Before Mario could answer the princess's question, his cell phone began to ring. Who could be calling him? Luigi, Peach, and Daisy were all right there!

He flipped the cell phone open and looked at the number, which he immediately recognized. It was Hamma's cell phone number. He had remembered that, earlier that day, he gave Hamma his cell phone in case he needed to contact him about the case…maybe their tremendous breakthrough was working…, "Hello?"

"Hello, Mario?" The voice on the other line asked. Hamma sounded nervous and, well…not himself…

"Is something wrong?"

"Yes, there is…" Hamma said quickly, "It's about Detective Goom!"


	14. Meeting at the Castle

Obviously my plan to write 2-3 chaptes in one week didn't turn out as nicely as I had hoped. Actually, I worte all of this from only last Sunday to today. One main reason for the lack of chapters would be the fact that my friend and I are starting a fan fiction of our own. I've been writing a lot to that, which cut down on the writing of this. But don't worry, there's no writer's block or anything, it's just unmotivation. Reviews for my fan fiction and votes for my poll, which is also about my fan fiction, may motivate me more to show that people actually _are _reading this...

So, enjoy this newest chapter! I'll get the next one written as soon as possible.

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Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 13-Meeting at the Castle**

"What's goin' on over there?!" Mario demanded, holding the phone with one hand and screaming into it. It looked like it would in a TV show when a girl is screaming at her boyfriend…hopefully Mario and Hamma weren't going out…

"Detective Goom…he…he…"

"He what?!" Mario almost lost it, causing several of the surrounding people to glance at him awkwardly. At this point, he didn't really care what other people thought of him. As long as he got to the bottom of this new revelation, he'd be happy.

"He…" Hamma said, pausing for a short moment to catch his breath. He was practically breathing as though he was running a marathon, "Well, I noticed that he wasn't at his home tonight…so I went over to his office…"

"Okay…" Mario said, pleased that Hamma was actually giving him some information instead of mumbling 'he' like a complete idiot.

"And I heard him talking to himself…he was in the bathroom, and he was looking into the mirror. He had left the door wide open, so all I had to do was hide behind a corner and spy on him to see what he was doing…I-I feared that something bad might happen if I interrupted him…"

"Okay…" Mario repeated. What the heck was going on here? This didn't sound good…no, not at all. At least the detective wasn't dead, though…

"He kept saying 'I have to tell them'…or, something like 'I need to confess', and then he said 'I've gotta do it tonight', and then he went on mumbling about that, and…and…I'm so…afraid…"

Mario didn't reply immediately. His mind was spinning so much that he didn't even know what to say. What did Detective Goom want to confess? Was _he _involved too? No! It couldn't be possible…could it? It was unthinkable! "This…doesn't sound good…"

Peach and the other glanced at Mario with horrified expressions. Yet they could not hear what was being said, they could tell that it wasn't a call to tell Mario that he won a million dollars…

Daisy mouthed 'what' to him, hoping he would tell them what was the matter. He merely held his finger up and turned his face away.

"I think…we should meet at the castle…" Hamma said, his voice trembling. Well, it certainly wasn't every day that your boss goes insane…if that's what was going on…

"Good idea!" Mario said, "We'll head over now!" And with that, the two exchanged their good-byes and hung up the phone, anxious as to what was coming their way…

Only a few minutes later, Mario and the others arrived at the castle. Hamma had been there for over three painful minutes, which practically seemed like an eternity.

Mario had explained the entire situation on the way back to the castle. Both Peach and Luigi could only stare at him in awe; this had to be the most complex mystery they had ever faced. So complex that it left them speechless…

"Good, you've finally arrived!" Hamma said anxiously. He looked so worried; they thought that he was going to burst right then and there. Ah well, who could blame him? He had actually witnessed the horrible scene that he had spoken of…was it really that bad?

"We tried to get here as fast as possible…," Mario said, "Knowing that the detective could be in some real trouble…" Although Mario claimed it to be fast, Peach could have gotten there in half the time that he had…mainly because he stopped at every stop sign and actually went the speed limit…he was one crazy guy…would there _ever _be a time when he broke some type of driving rule?

"I-I don't know what to do…" Hamma said nervously. He was glancing around back and forth as though he was bracing himself for some person who worked in a haunted house to jump out and scare him…

"Should we go over to the office?" Daisy suggested.

"Good idea…" Mario said, nodding at Daisy. For once he actually agreed with the flower-loving princess. He wasn't very fond of her, however. Well, it wasn't that he didn't like her, but he never got a chance to _really _know her…sure he knew her birthday and other miscellaneous things of the sort…but he never really got a good chance just to talk to her and find out what she was like…

"Hamma…" Peach started, "Do you wish to stay here at the castle?"

The Hammer Bro wasn't really sure what he wanted to do. He was curious about Detective Goom's condition, but he absolutely _hated _what he had witnessed earlier…and he did _not _want to view the agony yet again…, "I'll just stay here…"

Peach nodded, "Here, let me ask Toadiko to escort you to the sitting room…" With that, she disappeared into an adjacent room…the room that Toadiko was supposed to be cleaning. 'Supposed to be' were the key words there, because she made no appearance in the room…unless she was just playing a game of hide-and-seek or something…

"Why hello princess…is there anything I can help you with?" Toadbert, who was also in the room, asked. He most certainly was _not _supposed to be cleaning that room…what was going on here?! Did they mix up their rooms, or something?

"Uhh…yes, you can…" Peach stated, "Where is Toadiko? She is supposed to be cleaning this room…not _you_!"

"Ah, yes, Toadiko…she said that she was going to the store to pick up some groceries…so I opted to clean this room until she returned…"

"Oh…well…" Peach said, not really sure what to say, "Well, Hamma is in the ballroom now, and I would like you to lead him to the sitting room for me,"

"No problem…" Toadbert said, following the princess out the room after she politely said 'thank you' to him. Now that that was taken care of, they could go find out what was wrong with Detective Goom…oh, the anxiety was agonizing!

But that anxiety soon ended, as the group of four arrived at the doorstep of Detective Goom's office. Everyone was silent for the several seconds that they spend there, just staring down at the doorknob. They almost didn't want to turn it, but their curiosity was eating them from inside…

Mario nervously reached his hand out and turned the knob. He opened it slowly, peering inside to see if there was a crazy Goomba muttering weird phrases inside.

And there was…well, not entirely. The muttering of weird phrases part wasn't present in what they all saw, or in this case, _heard_, but something even _more_ devastating…the detective laid motionless on the floor…dead…


	15. The Reporters Return

Murder in the mushroom kingdom

**Chapter 14-The Reporters Return**

The rest of that night had come and gone…painfully slowly. It was like one of those times where you find yourself waiting eagerly for something, but what you want never seems to come. It eventually _did_ come however, at around eleven o' clock, where everyone found themselves getting tired. Daisy had gone back to the hotel, while Mario and Luigi headed for their house; they really didn't feel like staying at Peach's castle, even if there _would_ be the risk of someone sneaking in at night. Not only that, though, but Peach demanded they not stay with her, so it worked out nicely for everyone.

The night had been quite eventful, though, despite the fact that everyone was bored out of their minds. Why was that so, however? Wouldn't a murder get everyone nervous and jumpy? That's what had happened during the _last_ murder…how odd…

One distinctive thought was sticking out in Mario's mind, however, as he crawled into bed. It was an…interesting thought…a thought that he couldn't get out of his mind as he lay in his bed…It left him awake, wondering what this new information meant. It was really quite intriguing…

_About an hour after Detective Goom's body had been found:_

"**May I please speak with you, Mario? In private?"**

"**Is something bothering you, Toadbert?"**

"**Just…just please follow me…"**

… **.. .. . . ……. … … …**

**. … .. ….. …. … … .**

**. .. .. . **

**.. . .. **

… **. .**

**. . .. . ..**

**.. …. **

**. . .. … .**

**.. . **

**..**

**.**

"**Umm…yes? What is it?"**

"**Mario…I…I…well, there's something I want to tell you…"**

"**Sure, tell me anything…"**

"**Well…before, when Toadiko had called Detective Goom, I noticed she was using the phone in Peach's bedroom…well, I thought nothing of it, even though it did cross my mind as to why she had been using **_**that**_** phone. But anyway, as I was walking by the room, I saw and well, **_**heard**_** Toadiko talking to Detective Goom on the phone…but she was using a disguised voice…"**

"**That…that's…odd…"**

"**I wasn't going to tell anyone about it, but I think that Toadiko is hiding something…"**

…**. .. . .. … . …. .. .**

**. . . .. . . ..**

**.. . .. . **

**. **

**. . .. . . .**

**.. . .**

**. . . .**

…**. . . . . ….. …. .. **

…

**..**

**.**

**..**

**.**

Mario was staring at the ceiling of his bedroom. As tired as he was, he just couldn't fall asleep…let alone even _try_, for that matter. That same thought about him and Toadbert's private meeting would not leave his mind. Even when he tried to think about something else, the thought would just manage to make its way back. It was relentless! Maybe Mario felt as though this was a big clue to the case? Or maybe he was debating whether or not he should tell his friends? Toadbert had wanted _him_, and _only_ him to know about that incident, so maybe it would just be best if he didn't reveal it to anyone? Yes, he concluded, it would. Well, at least for the time being…

Mario yawned, rolling over onto his side. Slowly, the thought began to fade away, as though it were a dream, and left Mario to peacefully fall asleep…

Princess Peach was just awaking from the sound of curtains opening. She opened her eyes, only to be blinded by the bright light of the early morning.

"Well, hello, princess…did you sleep well?" Toadsworth, apparently, had been the one behind the whole 'opening of the curtains', and Peach was not grateful of it. If it were up to her, she might just want to strangle him right then and there. Like Mario, she had a tough time falling asleep, and waking up a little before six did not please her…at all…

"Ugh…how can you wake up this early?"

"Well, princess…" Toadsworth started, grinning at her. He knew he wasn't pleasing her, which he actually found quite amusing, "I was actually up at _five_…"

Peach rolled her eyes at him, getting out of bed and walking into her extravagant bathroom. Well, she was awake now, so she might as well just stay up…

"I'll prepare breakfast for you…"

"Please…do so…" Peach said angrily, almost in a demanding tone. Well, Toadsworth could have at least done _something_ useful, rather than stand around and brag about how early he woke up. How can an old guy such as himself get up so early, anyway?! Geez, even young, and not-so-ancient Peach found it to be too early to wake up…

It was about seven-thirty, and Peach was in the middle of eating her breakfast. Considering that Toadsworth had completely screwed up the meal the first time (what _else_ can go wrong?!), Peach was force to wait almost an hour so Toadsworth could make it yet again.

At least the food was good, though. So maybe Toadsworth wasn't _completely_ useless…

"Princess?" Toadetta asked, entering the dining room, hoping to speak with Peach. The not-so-happy princess almost didn't want to hear what she had to say…, "The reporters are back…"

"Well tell them to leave!" Peach ordered in an angry tone. Could this day really get any worse? It was unbelievable! And not in a good way…those reporters, especially that darn Goomba girl, were really starting to get on her nerves. They had really picked the wrong day to come knocking at her door…

"I did…" Toadetta pleaded, "But they just won't leave!"

Peach took a deep breathe and nodded. If that stupid Goomba girl was there, Peach might consider punching her in the face if she tries to embarrass her once again. Gee, Peach's rage and fury right then could match that of an erupting volcano…

The princess stood up and navigated her way through the castle to the front door. She paused for a moment to take another deep breathe…too bad she had lost that meditation video…

Peach looked outside to see the reporters talking amongst themselves. She just wanted to…scream…she wasn't entirely sure why, but maybe she felt that letting out her anger would actually be helpful in the end? And maybe it would scare off the reporters, too…

"Princess Peach!" More than a dozen reporters called to her, and she tried to put on at least a somewhat legitimate smile. She was bracing herself for a huge wave of questions that would probably drive her insane…

"Do you know how that old Goomba died?" A random reporter asked. Peach glanced down at him from her top step. How did these reporters know that she was in cahoots with Detective Goom? It almost scared her to think that the reporters knew so much about what was going on in the society. Sure they had called the police immediately after finding the body, but she never expected the reporters to get this information so quickly…

"Well…uhh…" Peach stuttered, not really sure what to say. She might as well just tell them the truth…, "No, we really don't have any explanation for the cause of death…

"Princess Peach?! Who do you think the murder of _this_ crime is?"

"Well…uhh…" Peach had seemed so nervous and uncomfortable now. What had happened to the super-angry Peach that had plans of punching the reporters in the face? Gee, apparently _that_ idea wasn't going to turn out as nicely as she ha hoped…, "We suspect that it's the same person from the previous crime…"

"Princess Peach…" A voice from behind the reporters came. The way this person – well, _female_, as it had sounded – had said her name…it almost seemed like she was using a casual or maybe even mocking tone. Who _was_ this woman?! What kind of snob would speak to a princess like that?!

"Oh…no…" Peach murmured to herself as she watched _the_ Goomba girl approach her. This hideous creature was back?! _This_ wasn't going to turn out well…

"You know, you sure are a magnet for attention…"

"Wh-what?" What in the _world_ was _that_ supposed to mean?! This darn girl sure did have a lot of bad thoughts about to the princess to ridicule her in such a manner…and she was just getting started. Gee, for all Peach knew, this stubborn snob had spent the whole last night practicing on how she could tear Peach apart again…

"I mean, think about it: Every time a murder happens around here, _you_ seem to be everyone comes rushing to! Why? Well, it's quite obvious that you seek attention…wow, I guess that you don't have very many friends. Gee, if you're so pitiful that you need so much attention, you're friends must have left you because _they think you're crazy_! I mean, have you considered seeking some type of mental help for your problem?"

Peach was in awe (as were the other reporters). This had to be the rudest girl she had ever met in her entire life. In Peach's opinion, _this_ girl was the one that sought all of the attention! And Peach wanted to tell her that, too…but she couldn't bring herself to do it…she just couldn't.

"You know, you're so crazy that I wouldn't be surprised if _you_ were the one killing all of the people…_just for attention_!"

Peach gasped. Did this girl truly think that the _princess_ was the killer?! Or was she just exaggerating? Had she just been saying that to get on Peach's nerves even more? The princess was still in much shock, and a whirlwind of thoughts were spinning around in her head.

Before anyone could say anything, Hamma was noticed, walking through the gates the led up to Peach's castle. It was quite a fortunate time for him to arrive (at least for Peach it was), considering that he might be able to help Peach get out of the dreadful situation she was in…

"Hi princess!" He said rather excitedly, pushing past the reports as though they weren't even there. Gee, if only Peach could learn how to think of them as no big deal…then she could finally take on this Goomba girl once and for all…

Peach didn't respond to Hamma, but was even still in shock. She could just not get the thoughts that the Goomba girl had said out of her mind. They were so painful to think about, too…

"Umm…princess? Are you alright?" Hamma asked, nudging her. He began to grow curious as to why she was acting the way she did. She merely shook her head quickly as she dashed back into the castle to cry, leaving Hamma, and even the reporters, speechless…


	16. Forming Plans

Yay! New chapter update! I've been working on this one for the past couple of days, and now I've finally gotten it finished! So...enjoy!

NOTES: (Here are just a few things I felt like mentioning)

1. Thanks for the reviews, guys, especially those who write a review for every chapter (like Toyax and Eventryraven (sorry if I spelt that wrong)).

2. Also, when the story is completely over (don't get excited, there's still a bunch more chapters), feel free to ask me to e-mail the entire story to you (unless you've been saving it into Word or something after every chapter).

3. I'm aiming to get the story completely written by Christmas break (maybe anywhere from Dec. 15-Jan. 10). I'm estimating a total of 22-25 chapters, maybe more.

**Chapter 15-Forming Plans**

"Princess?" Hamma walked into the castle, in search of the cause of Peach's sudden outburst. It wasn't exactly hard to find her, considering she had only disappeared into the adjacent room…and for the sound of random sobs…

The Hammer Bro made his way into the room where he found Peach, who was sitting on a couch with a box on Kleenex in her hands. He really did feel quite bad for her; he wasn't entirely sure _what_ the reporters had done to her, but they obviously did _some_thing…

"Wh…what do you want?" Peach asked softly, turning her head as though she didn't want to be bothered. Hamma wasn't entirely sure what to say to her. Should he try and comfort her? Should he leave her to her privacy? Those two, and several other, choices rattled around his brain, making him feel a bit dizzy, and a little confused.

"Ya know…" Hamma began, resting his hand on Peach's shoulder, "Those reporters are idiots…don't let them get to you…"

Peach glanced down at his hand, and then up at him, giving him a 'cut the crap' kind of stare. He could tell that she wasn't pleased, so he immediately removed his hand from her should and shifted farther down the couch, "Yeah, umm…that's what Detective Goom always told me…"

"What? Not to let reporters get to you?"

Hamma laughed slightly, "Well, no…not that…but…"

Peach looked at him, waiting for his response. She shifted around uncomfortably, yet still patiently waited for him to tell her what he wanted to say.

"Well…let me just put it like this: don't let anyone discourage you…especially if they have no idea what they're talking about…"

Peach smiled warmly and looked down at the ground. Well, at least her mood was growing a bit happier, even if she still did feel horrible inside. After a moment's silence, Peach looked back up at Hamma, and replied, "Detective Goom told you that?"

"Something along those lines…" Hamma answered, hoping he could continue to keep the princess pleased. He was actually quite surprised that she didn't think he was just telling her anything that came to his mind…Geez, even _Mario _couldn't cheer Peach up when she was sad! Somehow Hamma had this special characteristic for cheering people up…how odd…

"So…I guess that guy's not as crazy as we all thought…" Peach said, smiling at Hamma. He smiled back, but had no idea why he was doing so. He had never really got the sensation that Detective Goom was some crazy old dude, "And….umm…Hamma?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm just curious, but why are you here?"

Hamma was quite relieved that she was changing the subject. He didn't want to accidentally say something to ruin all of the progress he had made. Phew…, "I actually came to talk to you and the other three…but I'm guessing they're not here?"

"Well…it _is _kinda early…"

"Well…that's true," Hamma admitted, shifting back towards Peach a little bit. Gee, if any onlookers had been watching this, it would have looked like Hama was in love with Peach…even though he wasn't…, "Well…how 'bout I call you a little later? By then, the others might be over, and we can discuss our plans for the day…"

"Well…alright then…" Peach answered, watching Hamma get up from the couch. He waved to her as he left, and she did the same. Peach frowned, looking down at the ground in disappointment; she had actually enjoyed that time with Hamma. She hadn't _expected_ she would it enjoy it, but he was really quite nice to be around…and he had certainly cheered up her not-so-happy mood…

_RRRRRINNNG!_

Hamma kept his word: he really _did _call. It was about two thirty in the afternoon, and as he had predicted, Mario, Luigi, and Daisy had all been at Peach's castle by then. When the phone had rung, they were currently eating a late lunch. They would have eaten two hours earlier, but Daisy had insisted on going to the Mushroom Mall with Peach to get a new purse. Gee, look at the things Daisy wants to do when a mystery is at hand…

"Can someone get that?" Peach asked loudly, not wanting to leave her meal for some phone call. For all she knew, it was probably just some relative of hers wanting to talk…

Peach wasn't entirely sure _who_ got the phone, but apparently someone had, since the phone was cut off during the third ring. _Finally_ someone listened to her…

"So…" Luigi said, breaking the short silence after everyone had quieted down when the phone had rung, "Do we still think…you know who…did it?"

Mario suspected that Luigi's 'you know who' meant 'Toadiko', so he promptly answered, "Yes,"

"Me too…" Peach agreed.

Something had reminded Mario about the conversation with Toadbert he had the previous night. Why would Toadiko disguise her voice like that? She just _had_ to be hiding something, right? With this new information, Mario didn't think it was possible that Toadiko _couldn't have_ done it…, "There's just one flaw in our whole surmise…"

"A flaw…?" Daisy asked, curiously looking at the other two, who were both thinking the same thing. Was there really some problem with Toadiko being the murderer? No, there couldn't have been! Right…?

"Well…unfortunately, yes…" Mario said, surprised that none of them had figured out what the 'flaw' was. Maybe he really _was_ a good detective, as Peach had called him. If he _were_ the only person to think of this, then maybe he was better at this than he thought…he still doubted that, though, "I can't believe you guys didn't think of this…,"

Peach gave him her death glare. It was like one of those instances in a sitcom where the wife is angry with her husband. Considering that Peach was playing the 'wife' role, there was no way this could have been a sitcom…

"But anyway…" Mario said, "Here's the problem: When Toadario and the Goomba bouncer had been murdered, _Toadiko was on stage_!"

"Oh…" Peach and Daisy said at the same time. They were each surprised that they really _didn't _think of that…maybe Mario didn't deserve the death glare after all…

But this was certainly true. Toadiko _had _been on stage; there was no question about that. So then…how could she have done it? Could they have been wrong all along? Ah, this new revelation was agonizing!

"I'm glad you said that, Mario…" Peach looked at him, thinking hard about what she had just been told, "Otherwise, we might have been stuck on Toadiko forever!"

Mario nodded in satisfaction; he had actually gotten a compliment from Peach! _That _wasn't something he had expected. On a serious note, however, he was faced with the same problem: he had no idea who the murderer could have been now…


	17. Unexpected Occurrences

**Chapter 16-Unexpected Occurrences**

Toadiko walked into the room, making everyone quiet down about there conversation. They all glanced nervously around at each other; even if they had eliminated Toadiko from the list of possible suspects, she still seemed very…untrustworthy…

"That was Hamma…" She said, ever-so-normally. She didn't seem nervous or jumpy one bit. Maybe she truly wasn't the murderer after all? But then why had she been so threatening to Mario during their private conversation? "He wants two of you to go to his house. He said that you knew where he lives…and he wanted the other two to get some file from Detective Goom's _house_, not office. I'm not sure what he wants with the file, but I figured it'd be best not to ask him…"

"Oh…" Mario said, raising his eyebrows curiously. A file? How was Mario supposed to know which file? How was Mario supposed to know _where _the file was? This all seemed very…peculiar…

"A file?" Peach asked, watching Toadiko disappear out of the room, "Mario, I think that _you _better get the file, because I have no idea where it could be…"

"Well, I don't either…" Mario reasoned, watching Peach shift around uncomfortably. It almost seemed that Peach just didn't _want _to go to Detective Goom's house…not because of the file. Ah well, that's no problem, "But I'll go anyway…"

"Yeah, I think I better go with Peach…" Luigi said, then glancing at Peach, who looked at him in a funny way. Geez, did Luigi like Peach, or something? What was with him? Well, either that or he'd have to go with his brother…which would probably end in a fist fight…

"Okay…then I guess Daisy and I will get the file…" Mario said, looking at Daisy, who nodded. Mario didn't nod, or even smile, however. Again, his strange dislike for Daisy was returning. He didn't know _why _he didn't really like her…but he just didn't. Sure, he didn't _hate _her or anything, but she certainly would not be the first person e would pick to do something with. Maybe it was because he never really got a chance to know her? He _does _see her a lot, but never did he really get a good chance just to sit down and talk to her…, "Daisy, can I speak with you for a moment?"

Daisy stood up as soon as she saw Mario motion for her to follow him. Mario pushed open the door into the kitchen and shut it behind them. He then made sure all of the other doors were closed, and that no one else was in the room. Geez, did he want to propose to her, or something? Why keep it so private?

"Daisy, I still don't trust Toadiko…"

"Okay…"

Mario looked at her, but was glaring at her, internally. What was 'okay' supposed to mean? He had suspected a 'I agree', or a 'neither do I', or something, but not 'okay'. "What I mean is…that, well, I think that we should just be cautious of going…you know what I mean?"

"Oh, sure, sure…"

"So…just be careful, alright?"

Daisy nodded, but didn't say anything. She watched as Mario walked around her and opened the door back into the dining room. She heard him say, "We just had a little chat, and I think we're ready to go as soon as we're done eating…"

Mario and Daisy were currently taking a walk to Detective Goom's house; it was within walking distance. Both were curious as to about the whole 'get the file' deal, but, nonetheless, Toadiko might be telling the truth…

The duo hardly talked at all on the way there. Every several seconds, Daisy would glance over at Mario, who would be completely oblivious of her. To her, it merely seemed that Mario just wasn't in a talking mood, but Mario truly knew that wasn't the case. Sure he really _didn't_ see her when she would look at him, but he still wouldn't want to talk to her even if he _did _know…

"So…" Daisy said, almost as though she's been wanted to talk for a long time now, "It's a nice day out…"

"Uh huh," Mario said, not even turning his head towards her to show that he had any interest in what she was saying. Did he really dislike Daisy that much? It was quite hard to believe so, but by the way he acted towards her, it was like he _despised_ her. Very interesting…

They turned down the next road and walked up to Detective Goom's house. It appeared to be a small, nice place…a nice place that Detective Goom would no longer get to be in again…

"The door's unlocked?" Daisy noted, looking at Mario suspiciously. She had certainly suspected it to be locked, but nonetheless, that wasn't the case, and she wasn't going to go around wondering about the matter…

"So, ya think maybe those two will get along better now?" Luigi looked at Princess Peach as the duo was walking towards Hamma's house.

"Who? Mario and Dasiy? Well, I certainly hope so, because I, too, have noticed that their not exactly best friends…"

"I wonder why that is…" Silence settled over the conversation as they both began thinking about the matter. Neither of them could come to a legitimate answer, though…not even _close_ to a legitimate answer. It just didn't make sense…

"Why, here we are!" Peach said rather excitedly. She wasn't entirely sure why her spirits had risen drastically about the fact that they were going to talk about murder. Maybe she was just pleased to stop thinking about the Mario and Daisy problem? Or…could it have something to do with Hamma…?

"Welcome, welcome!" Hamma exclaimed, leading the two of them into his house. Like Detective Goom's, his home was very nice and pleasant looking. Peach had almost preferred this kind of atmosphere, rather than the extravagance and enormousness of her castle. Sure a castle was - how Peach once put it – _awesome_, but it would be nice for a change of pace once in a while.

Hamma glanced at them awkwardly. By the way he looked at them, one might suggest that Hamma had never met them in his entire life. Was something wrong with their presence? This was all so confusing…

"Hamma?" Peach asked warily, "Is something wrong?"

"Well, no…not exactly…" He said, pausing for a moment, "It's just that…well, where's Mario and Daisy?"

"Oh, well we just decided to come here without them while they got the file. That way, we could talk about the mystery here while they are on their way back, and then they'll give you the file and we can catch them up on what they missed…"

Hamma stared at her blankly. It was the kind of expression one might make when someone tells a joke that makes no sense, whatsoever. "What…are you talking about?! What file?!"

"You know…the one that you told us to get? File? Ring a bell?" Peach was shocked as much as Hamma was. They each suspected 'the other one is going mad', while Luigi watched the conversation with confusion.

"I didn't tell you to get me a file…" Hamma ensured, shaking his head so Peach would finally understand what he was talking about. She still didn't, however, and the immense confusion she was receiving was beginning to make her head spin.

"I…I don't understand…" Peach stammered, looking at Hamma warily. He returned the glance, but not for the same reason. He understood what was going on, but feared the outcome…they had all been duped, and now Mario and Daisy were in big trouble…


	18. A Deadly Surprise

Well, I was actually going to update only like...two or three days after the last chapter (Chapter 16, I mean...), because I had like 90% of the chapter written. But then I got a new game and just kept playing that, but now I've decided to update again!

Hmmm...where did everyone go? (thank you sarfinafilth for reviewing) Toyax? Eventyraven? You still reading? If so, I'd just like to know...so thanks! :D

Anyway, here's a very interesting chapter for you. Now...prepare yourself...for the epicness... 

**Chapter 17-A Deadly Surprise**

"What the…there's no file here…" Mario remarked, a little annoyed. He hadn't particularly enjoyed walking all the way there…_with Daisy_.

"Well…" Daisy said, utterly baffled. She and Mario were walking around Detective Goom's living room, and there was no sight of a file, "Toadiko never actually said that it would just be waiting for us on a table or anything…maybe she just didn't tell us where Hamma said it was?"

Mario nodded slowly, walking into, what looked like to be, Detective Goom's dining room. He wasn't entirely sure _where _the file could have been – if it even existed – but he figured that it wouldn't hurt to take a few minutes to look around.

"Oooh…" Daisy said, drawing Mario's attention back into the living room. He looked at her curiously, and she motioned for him to stand by her. Stand by her? Oh yikes…

Mario complied, however. Maybe she had actually found the file? Doubtful, but possible. She might not have been as useless as Mario had thought, "Umm…it's a filing cabinet…"

"Exactly!" Daisy said, rather excitedly, "The file will probably be in here, right?"

Mario nodded, "Well, maybe…but I'll still check the dining room…" The red-capped plumber disappeared into the adjacent room, continuing his search for this ever-so-mysterious file. Maybe there wasn't _even _a file…could that be? Well, Toadiko had certainly been found telling lies before, so maybe this was just another?

"Wow, you wouldn't believe what Detective Goom has in these files…" Daisy remarked. Mario ignored her sudden outburst, not entirely wanting to know what she had been talking about…

"Hey…ummm…Daisy?" Mario asked after a short silence. She glanced up at him from one of the files she had been snooping through. Mario had sounded so…sincere all of the sudden. It wasn't like him…either something was wrong, or he wanted to tell her something that was really important.

"Yes?"

"Do you…smell something…?" Daisy glanced around awkwardly, and then stood up. She laid the file she was looking through on the table and walked around the room, trying to find out what Mario was talking about.

"Yeah…" She said suddenly, turning in disgust to Mario, "It smells like…I dunno…"

"Almost like someone was making something on the grill…"

"Yeah," Daisy pointed at him, nodding. Very peculiar…did Detective Goom even have a grill? And if so…why would someone be grilling something? This was getting all very confusing…and very strange…, "Umm…Mario?"

"Yeah?"

"D-did you hear that?"

Mario looked up at her with an ever-so-serious look in his eye. She was beginning to scare him…had she truly heard something that would cause her to stutter? But…how could a noise have been made? Was…there someone else in the house with them?

When that thought bounced its way into Mario's find, he became ever so silent and still. He felt as though he were taking part in a horror movie…or a 'slasher' movie. A slasher movie? Oh no…

"D-did you?!"

If someone really _had _been in the house with them, then Daisy's sudden outburst would have easily given them away. She definitely must not have been thinking straight…

"No. what did you hear?" Mario whispered quietly, hoping she would catch on to the whole 'be quiet' kind of deal.

"It sounded…like someone was outside…in the backyard…"

Mario glanced at her with a fearful look in his eyes. Just as he suspected: someone was there. He wasn't entirely sure _where _this person could have been…maybe still outside?

Daisy spoke up again, "Let's go see who it is…and…the smell, it's getting stronger…"

Mario noticed that too. At this point, it sounded like something had been burning. Burning?! "Daisy, we gotta get outta here!"

"Wait, wait!" Daisy demanded, surprised by Mario's sudden exclamation. Didn't he want to know who was outside? For all they knew, it could have been the _murderer _outside, and they'd be able to catch him!

"Daisy, now!" He began to pull her towards the door, but she was urgent to stay and gather more information. Had she really suspected nothing of the burning smell?! Didn't she realize that they'd…die?!

"Let go of me! Stop!" Daisy fired back, falling to the ground in her attempt to break free from Mario. He continued to urge her to come with him, however, and, to show it, he lifted her from the ground and practically forced her to the front door.

Again, though, she didn't plan to give up that easily. She broke free from Mario's grasp (she was sure a strong woman), and ran towards the back door. She was immensely surprised, however, when she saw a rapidly growing flame spreading quickly into and throughout the house. She could feel the scorching heat on her face…but, could only stand there and watch in awe as the once neat little home turned into a scalding palace of dancing flames.

She could here a faint call from Mario: "Get out of there!". It sounded so…faint, and very far away. She almost felt as though she were in her own little world…or maybe just some horrible state of shock?

Still, though, she just couldn't move. One might had guessed that she was hypnotized; by the way she merely stood there and stared in wonder. What did she plan to do?! Was she just going to…stand there?! No! Never! She just couldn't…she _wouldn't_…no, not Daisy…

Reality bounced back into her as she felt Mario begin to pull her away from the growing fire. She 'snapped out of it' and ran out through the front door, Mario at her side…

Mario had…saved her. Would she have truly just let the flames engulf her and burn her to a crisp? Had it really been Mario's braveness and desire to go back and save her? How…nice, she though…

Yes…very nice indeed…

* * *

Wow! A fire?! I bet Mario and Daisy didn't expect _that_...

And even better yet, Mario had to go back in and save Daisy! Maybe his dislike for her didn't exist as much as he thought?

Also, more questions have arisen...who lit the fire? What will happen to Detective Goom's house? Very, very interesting...obviously Mario and his vast brain of his has scared _some_body...so much that they wanted him dead...

Well, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please review! Reviews get me more enticed to write, so the more reviews, the faster the chapter! :D

Bye for now! See you next chapter!

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	19. A Much More Friendly Atmosphere

Yay! A new chapter! I've had this chapter planned out for quite a long time now, but it came out even better than I expected!

In addition, I will need to start thinking now, for I've had plans for the fan fiction all the way up to now, meaning I have no idea what the upcoming chapters will be about.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 18-A Much More Friendly Atmosphere**

Fire trucks filled with determined firemen had arrived shortly after Mario had ever-so-nicely saved Daisy. The two of them, still recovering from the horrid events, were talking to a friendly fireman.

"And you have no idea what started the fire?" The fireman puzzled as both Mario and Daisy shook their head. It was quite a mystery…

The three stood back and watched as the fire was just about entirely put out. At least Detective Goom wasn't alive to see his house burn down…, "Was this your house?"

"No…" Mario answered, glancing at the house, and then back at the fireman who looked completely baffled, "It-it was a friend's…"

"Ah…" He replied, watching another fireman approach him. The two murmured something of importance to each other, and then split apart, "If you'll excuse me…"

The duo used this opportunity to slip away from the fireman, and from the house, entirely. It wasn't that they didn't want to continue to stay and chat, but both of them got that feeling that it would just waste time and lacked any significance…

"Hey…Mario?" Daisy looked over at Mario, who, surprisingly, looked back. For once he seemed to be interested in what Daisy was saying…had saving her life truly opened up a secret friendship that was always between them? Hopefully…, "Thanks for saving me…"

"Don't mention it," Mario said modestly. By the way he said it, one might suspect that they had been friends for years! He even _smiled _at her when she thanked him! "But…may I ask, why _were _you standing mindlessly in front of a growing flame?"

Daisy smiled and laughed at Mario's jokey mood. Who could have thought that those two would be in such high spirits right after a fire? And to think that Mario was actually talking to her like that! "I'm not really sure…for a minute there, I thought I was a goner…"

"Yeah…" Mario answered, smiling and looking at her, "Me too…"

"Turn _right_, Luigi! _Right_!" Hamma squealed as Luigi turned on the 'left' blinker, "Why in the _world _are you driving anyway!"

"You told me to!" Luigi whined, "You said 'I'll drive too recklessly, so you should drive'!"

"Huh?" Hamma asked, "I don't think so…"

Peach glanced back at him and nodded. Wow, he must have really been worried about the safety of Mario and Peach, considering that he had forgotten something he said two minutes ago…

Hamma was mainly aggravated at Luigi at the moment; like his brother, Luigi was insane when it came to driving. For one, he was actually _going _the speed limit! Didn't he even _care _about his brother?! Geez, Hamma just met these people and he was the most worried one there!

"Luigi! Speed limits are _meant _to be broken…that's why they call them speed limits!"

"What?! That doesn't make any sense at all!"

"Don't you wonder what Luigi and them are doing right now?" Daisy asked to Mario, who nodded at her and began to think, "They're probably wondering why we're not back with the file yet…"

"Yeah…" Mario laughed, "I wouldn't be surprised if they thought we were in some kind of danger!" Both Mario and Daisy laughed. Again, their sudden friendship was really quite amazing. Maybe the life-threatening fire was really worth it? Maybe it would bring out the better in the both of them?

"I know!" Daisy exclaimed, "They're always so worried! They really just need to learn how to chill! Like…take a chill-pill or something!" Again, they exchanged laughs. They sure were having fun gossiping about their friends like that…

"You know what I just realized?"

"What?" Daisy asked, still smiling.

"We're not even heading in the direction of Hamma's house…were going back to the castle!"

Daisy nodded and smiled again. Mario did the same as they exchanged some more jokes and chit-chat. Did they truly not care that they might leave their friends worried about them? And for once, Mario wasn't even interested in the case! This new friendly revelation made him feel better and less stressed out, too.

"Go! Go! Go! Run the red light! You can make it! C'mon! Don't' stop! What are you doing?! You could have sneaked by if you weren't driving so slow!" Hamma was on a roll with quick comments that were beginning to drive Luigi a little bit crazy. Didn't this Hammer Bro have _any _sense of security, whatsoever?

Peach sighed, and Hamma did the same. Luigi glared at them both, mumbling, "Don't worry, this wont take long…"

Hamma rolled his eyes, preparing to push Luigi out of the car and completely run the red light. In his opinion (and Peach's, too), it would be worth it.

"I don't think that they really care if we meet them there…" Mario established. He wasn't entirely sure whether or not what he had said was very accurate, but he didn't really care. At the moment, he just really wanted to be with Daisy and catch up on what they had missed about each other over the past few years.

"Nah…" Daisy agreed, blowing her friends off as though they were pieces of trash, "It's not like their going crazy to find us or anything…"

"This is crazy!" Hamma yelled into Luigi's ear, who jumped with surprise and dismay. It wasn't exactly pleasant to hear someone scream angrily into your ear like that…not pleasant at all…

"Hey!" Luigi fired back, turning the corner ever-so-slowly, "It is wise to obey all driving rules and signs! _Especially _speed limits!"

Now it was Peach's turn to become angry with the plumber. She had tolerated Luigi's slow driving long enough, but now she was anything but pleased with him. Poor Luigi…he definitely wasn't prepared for what would happen next…

While Luigi was too busy keeping his eyes on the road, Peach began to raise her hand, and…

_Slap!_

The princess slapped Luigi with all of the might in her surprising strong arms. Peach had always said that she had no power in her arms when she was content, but when annoyed, she could send even the toughest flying!

The car swerved drastically, and Luigi's heart skipped a beat. He drove back on the right side of the side and breathlessly said, "What was that for?! You could have gotten us killed!"

Peach immediately gave him her death glare. He turned guilty away from the evil look she gave him and began to pick up a little speed. He could tell that she was in no mood for any of his 'we need to stay safe' comments.

Silence filled the car as Luigi continued to drive even faster. Gee, he was now peaking at thirty-five miles per hour…that must have a record. Still though, _any _additional speed was better than the way he was driving _before_…

Still, no one spoke. Hamma was grinning widely. Never had he expected Peach to slap Luigi. Geez, for that matter, _he _probably hadn't of yet gotten as angry as to slap Luigi…and he sure was angry!

Luigi made one final turn and drove towards Detective Goom's house. All of their mouths dropped open as they saw a group of firemen ensuring that the fire had been put out.

"F-fire?!" Peach exclaimed, clinging on to Luigi's arm in a state of shock. He glanced at her awkwardly, and then at the smoke that was still dissolving from the scorching flames. Had there truly been a fire at Detective Goom's house? It was…unbelievable…

At that very moment, though, only one thing was going through all of their minds: Had Mario and Daisy survived, or did the flames burn them to a crisp and end their lives with much surprise?


	20. Unnessecary Excitement

I'm very sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I just wasn't in the mood for writing (I'm sure you all get like that sometimes). Just remember, though, like I said several chapters ago: yuo can _always _expect an update. I _definately _plan to finish this fan fiction, expecially considering there's only 6-7 chapters left.

Hopefully the next update will come sooner... :P

Well, enjoy!

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**Chapter 19-Unnessecary Excitement**

"Hey, you!" Hamma called, startling an unexpected fireman who happened to be walking by, "What happened here?!"

"Oh…umm…" the fireman stuttered. It appeared to be the same one that Mario and Daisy had been talking to earlier. He glanced at the three, and then smiled a little, thinking about how fortunate 'that man and woman' were to have escaped the fire, "Well, there had been a fire here no so long ago…"

Peach was about to slap the guy for stating the obvious, but she restrained herself from any violence…for now…, "Well, yeah, but…did you guys find anyone inside?"

Again, the fireman smiled. By the way he acted about Mario and Daisy's safety, one might suspect that he was in love with them, or something. Kind of awkward…, "Yes, we found two people. A man and a woman,"

"Mario and Daisy!" Hamma jumped up excitedly. He then glanced back at the fireman, hoping that he didn't mean that the 'man and the woman' were…dead. Oh, how horrible such a thought was! Could Mario and Daisy have actually died?! So sudden?! So unexpectedly?!

"I guess that's what their names were," The fireman began, "But don't worry, they make it out safely,"

Peach let out of sigh of relief, while Luigi held his heart to express his lack of anymore concern. All three of them couldn't help but to grin. How _couldn't _they at a time like that? It's not exactly normal to frown after finding out that your best friends are alive…

"Well…" Luigi said, looking around, "Where did they go?"

The fireman looked back at him, "Well, they went that way," He accurately pointed his finger in the direction of where he had seen the duo go. The friendly fireman watched as the group exchanged confused mutters of 'why did they go that way?'.

"Well…okay then…thanks…" Peach shrugged and began to walk with the other two back towards the car. Her mood was certainly lifted, and she even began to laugh quietly to herself out of sheer happiness. Peach…actually happy? Now _that _was a surprise…

"Ya know, I can't help but to wonder where those two disappeared off to…" Luigi struggled with himself to determine a legitimate answer. The others puzzled in their minds the dilemma that lie before them.

"Well, I bet they just went back to the castle…" Hamma reasoned. His suspicion certainly made sense, and it was probably the _only _reasonable solution to this question…

Mario and Daisy were just entering the castle. They had a nice long talk with each other to catch up on all of those things they missed about each other's lives. Mario was especially pleased to finally befriend Daisy, and, for that matter, Daisy felt the same towards _him_…

"I wonder how long it'll take for them to find us here?" Daisy asked, smiling a bit as she and Mario walked into a nearby room to sit down. She felt quite relieved that, for once, they weren't scrutinizing over this ever-so-complicated mystery. Geez, she could only imagine how annoyed she would be if Peach and the others walked through the door right now and broke up her and Mario's conversation…and then they'd probably want to talk about the case. How…unexciting…

"I bet we can expect to see them within the next half hour…if they come to their senses, that is…" Mario replied. Was he truly not interested in the case, for the time being? He hadn't said one word about it to Daisy yet, and, surprisingly, he didn't really _want _to…

Daisy sighed. What he had said wasn't exactly reassuring to her…no, not at all. Hopefully they _wouldn't _come to their senses…, "Well…okay…"

Mario sighed as well. He could tell that Daisy really just didn't want to talk much about the case at the moment. Who could blame her? They had all been wrapped up in that complex case for days now, and it was bound to get on someone's nerves eventually…

"If they're not here…" Luigi started as they drove up to the castle. He almost sounded threatening, or as though he wanted to finish the statement with some violent phrase. Poor, poor Luigi; there was no way he could be threatening…

The other two merely ignored him; it wasn't like he was going to say something important, or anything. And besides, they were still a bit angry with him over how he drove so slow to Detective Goom's house.

The trio entered the house and was immediately attracted to the sound of Mario and Daisy talking…surprisingly. Were they actually talking to each other?! And did Mario just laugh?! Somehow, those two were friends…or they were just drunk and had no idea who they were talking to…

"Hey guys!" Luigi entered the room where Mario and Daisy were. He was quite surprised to see Mario and Daisy – his own girlfriend – talking so heartily and happily to each other. Geez, were they in love, or something?!

"Oh, hey Luigi…" Daisy stood up, and made one final smile at Mario. She seemed so unexcited to see Luigi, which made him feel unwanted and kind of lonely.

"So _there _you guys are!" Peach was the second to enter the room; she and Hamma had had a brief talk with each other in the ballroom, "We were looking all over for you! We were afraid you guys were dead!"

Hamma decided to unleash his own summary of what had gone on…but he was more aimed at making fun of Luigi than anything else, "Yeah, and Luigi was driving the stupid _exact _speed limit, so it took for_ever _to get to Detective Goom's house! But all in all, I've gotta admit, when Peach slapped Luigi – who then almost wrecked my car –, that was the funniest thing I have ever seen!"

The group erupted in laughter, while Luigi merely shook his head and sighed. It was especially funny for Daisy, though; she was his own _girlfriend_, and she _never _thought of slapping Luigi when he annoyed her…

Mario ever-so-suddenly began to get serious again. Even his desire to solve the case was beginning to arise, and he couldn't help but to bring up the mystery, "So…now that we've had some laughs, I think it would be best to start figuring out this case…"

Daisy sighed. She kind of felt like she was being a brat for acting like the case was unimportant, but she had had enough death and sorrow now that she just didn't even want to _think _about the mystery…

Mario sensed that Daisy was unhappy, and, although he _did _want Daisy to participate in the case, he wanted her to be pleased, as well, "But I think the girls should go out and do something else…"

Daisy lightened up entirely. She felt as though a dark and gloomy cloud had just left her body…, "That sounds great!"

"But…" Luigi wanted to protest, but he couldn't think of anything to say. Fro that matter, it would have probably been _wise _to keep his mouth shut, considering that Peach's hands were like weapons for destruction…

The two princesses joined each other and said their good-byes; they wanted to get out of there before Mario changed his mind and made them yap for two hours about this mystery…

"May I ask…" Hamma started, "But where are you going?"

Peach and Daisy looked at each other, nodded, and then smiled, "Shopping!"


	21. Mixing Shopping with Mysteries

I actually had a lot of fun writing this chapter, and I had been wexcited to write. You can expect faster updates as long as I stay in the writing mood (which I should be).

A lot of interesting stuff is covered in this chapter, and this may possibly clear things up. Enjoy!

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**Chapter 20-Mixing Shopping with Mysteries**

It was the highlight of both Peach's and Daisy's lives: shopping. They could shop better and longer than any other human being in the entire world…they were absolute pros. Their affinity for shopping was also quite annoying, though…at least for the boys, it was. Like the time when they drug Mario around a store and debated for _three hours _about whether or not to buy a pair of shoes. Or the time when they went shopping all day and wound up buying nothing…they were crazy…

Mario, Luigi, and Hamma could care less what the girls were doing at the time. Geez, they practically _preferred _to be sitting around talking about the case!

"So now…" Mario began the conversation, "Let us take this time to analyze the case with much thought, okay?"

The others nodded, but didn't say anything. They had pretty much both internally agreed to let Mario control this whole investigation, and speak only when they really needed to. It would save more time that way, too.

Mario spoke again, "First, we should focus on who our primary suspect is…" He began to glance around the room, almost as though he was looking for somebody…and he was; Toadiko. He had suspected her from the beginning, and he felt that nothing could be said or done to remove that suspicion.

"Toadiko…" Luigi said simply and to the point, which Mario liked. He felt that there was no reason to drag these kind of questions out and make a whole seminar about them. That would be the kind of thing _Peach _would do…

"I agree…" Hamma nodded, exchanging glances with Luigi. It was quite obvious that Toadiko was at the top of their suspect list…which pretty much only comprised her…

"Alright," Mario nodded with satisfaction; at least they had all agreed on _one _thing…, "I, too, think that she did it…which brings us to our next question: _How_…?"

This one was a bit tougher. How in the world could Toadiko have shot two people while she was on stage in front of hundreds of people? Only one possible solution made sense to them, that of which was mentioned by Luigi, "Maybe she had an accomplice?"

"Exactly…" Mario nodded, still pleased that no problem had yet surfaced in their discussion…except, of course, the fact that they figured absolutely _nothing _out in the case…, "But who, though?"

Mario watched as the two others puzzled with this question. To no avail, they shook their heads and sighed; no person they thought of made sense to be the accomplice, let alone the shooter. The red-capped plumber couldn't help but to feel a shock of disappointment run throughout his body; this question was too difficult to answer…at the time…

"Couldn't it just be some other Toad that works in the castle?" Hamma suggested. Maybe he was right…Toadiko might have bribed one of the Toads, or Toad_ettes _for that matter, and went along perfectly with her plan…it certainly made sense…

"Possible…" Mario nodded and smiled a little bit, "Definitely possible…but also doubtful…" Hamma shot him a look of confusion, which Mario immediately noticed, "I'm sorry, but I just don't think that's the case, here…"

The Hammer Bro perfectly understood, and merely nodded in Mario's direction to urge him to carry on. The plumber swallowed, and then continued, "Now, why do we think that Toadiko told Detective Goom about a completely different case? Something about a car, if I remember correctly?"

The other two stared blankly at him. Again, they came up with no reasonable solution. This whole conversation had started out good, but now it was definitely turning into a downfall…

"Let's ignore that point, for now…" Mario said, as soon as he noticed that the question wasn't going to be answered. Even _he _didn't have _some _kind of answer for this one…, "Now, why was Detective Goom murdered?"

"Obviously, so he wouldn't solve the case…" Luigi said, quite confident that his remark was the correct one. But what he feared had come; Mario shook his head.

"That doesn't really make sense. When you think about it, it was _her _idea to call the detective, not ours. And besides, I think there's a deeper meaning to all of this…" Mario tried to not make Luigi sound like an idiot, but he really had to express his point. What Luigi had said was possible, but extremely unlikely.

"Well…okay then…" Luigi felt a bit disappointed that he couldn't solve _anything_. Ah well, though…as long as they would solve the case, he didn't really care how much he figured out…

"Now we come to another important point…why was the file started, and who started it?" Mario smiled a little bit at the thought of the fire, at the way he saved Daisy and became friends with her. It made his feel a bit more relaxed…

"I bet Toadiko started it…" That was all Luigi managed to say before Hamma wanted to speak.

"And besides, she _was _the one I had talked to over the phone. I'm guessing that she made up some lie about some file that you guys were talking about, and used it to lure you to Detective Goom's house…"

Mario nodded. The satisfaction was beginning to return, and he felt that what Luigi and Hamma had said made more than enough sense for him to believe it. He decided to let that point go, and speak about a different matter, "Now, let's put everything that we have talked to together, and ask ourselves whether or not our solution is possible…Okay, now…Peach throws the party, and during it, two people get shot by Toadiko's accomplice, who is possible some other Toad worker here. For some reason, Toadiko brings up Detective Goom, and lies to him about the case. She must have even asked her accomplice to later kill him for some unknown reason. Then, she tells us all a lie, and Daisy and I go to Detective Goom's house. We survive the fire that we think either she or her accomplice caused. I can imagine that did that in order to kill us and get us out of the way. So now, let us determine…is this a reasonable solution?"

"_I _think it is…" Luigi said, nodding.

"Me too…" Hamma agreed. He began to smile at the thought of this possible breakthrough in the case. Sure there were a few points that Mario didn't mention, but at the moment, this solution seemed very possible…

"There's only one more major point I'd like to bring up…why wasn't I on the list?" Mario asked, remembering that this could be a very important aspect in the case.

"Can't we just make this easy and say that Peach forgot you? I mean, wasn't she in a rush? Couldn't she have just forgotten to put you on it?" Luigi desperately wished that they could just come to a simple solution easily and quickly. Unfortunately, Mario disagreed…

"You've gotta know that it's going to be more complicated than _that_…" Mario sighed a defeated sigh. Again, they came to another question that they couldn't answer, and it was really starting to bug him, "Well, let's just ignore that for a while. Just be sure to continue thinking about all of these unanswered questions over the course of the day, okay?"

Luigi and Hamma nodded. They weren't entirely sure if they truly _would _do that, but they figured that it was best to have Mario convinced that they would be in deep thought all day about the matter.

"We could always ask what the girls think when they get back?" Luigi offered. Despite the fact that he was entirely tired of conversing about the case, he _did _want to solve it.

"Luigi, Peach and Daisy are completely uninterested in the case for the time being. I'm sure they'll want to talk about it tomorrow, but I really think that we all should just take the night off…

The green-capped plumber shrugged. Geez, by the looks of it, _Luigi _was more interested in the case than _Mario_ was. Who would have thought that even Mario would need to take some kind of break? Maybe the difficulty of the case truly _was _getting at him? Luigi had never seen Mario ignore a mystery before, and it as beginning to make him quite curious whether or not his brother would be able to solve the case successfully…

Mario knew that Luigi wasn't exactly happy with the whole 'take a break' deal, but he didn't care. And besides, if he tried to continue solving the mystery at the time, his head might explode out of sheer disgust about the case, "Therefore, I've planned a little something tonight for us all…"

Luigi looked up at him, a bit more interested. At first, he had figured they'd just do the 'lazy thing', as Luigi would call it, and stay home and lay on their couch all night while they watched TV and ate chips. But no…Mario had _some_thing planned, and it was finally turning his attention away from the case…, "Umm…well, what? What are we doing?"

"Since I knew that the two girls absolutely _love_ this place, and that you're a fan of it yourself…," Mario smiled a sly kind of smile. It was one of those smiles he would use when he had a brilliant trick up his sleeve, "I figured that we would go…to the casino…"


	22. A Night at the Casino

Well, the new chapter is finally here! It _is _the shortest chapter yet, but I like it a lot. And besides, if I didn't make this one short, then it would be very long, and I didn't want it like, that (I planned to combine this and the next chapter). Anyways, I hope you enjoy it.

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****Chapter 21-A Night at the Casino**

When the girls had found out that they wouldn't be spending the night talking about the case, they practically worshipped Mario for letting them do something interesting for once. Ever _Luigi_ felt that they could take a break for the night. Hamma turned down the offer, though; he claimed he was tired and just wanted to relax.

Better yet, though, they were going to the casino! Luigi had always loved the casino, even though he rarely gambled…maybe because he never won? He just liked the whole feel of the place, and besides: there were stores, bars, and restaurants inside that made going even more worthwhile.

Peach and Daisy, however, loved the casino as much as they loved shopping…now _that _was surprising. They'd even gamble, too, generally just for the fun of it; they had money to spare…But once, Peach was a big winner and won the $25,000 jackpot on one of the slot machines!

Mario offered to drive (ever so slowly, of course). The Mushroom Casino was only about fifteen minutes away form Peach's castle…when Peach drives. With Mario, it took about twenty-five minutes, but nonetheless, it was still better than staying at the castle and trying to solve the mystery…

As the four got out of the car, Daisy couldn't help but to whisper 'thank you' to Mario. Again, he was like a hero to her; letting her off the hook for a second time made her feel very grateful inside.

Mario led the group to the entrance door and pushed it open, revealing the extravagant casino that unfolded itself before them. Colorful lights, mixed with the sound of a thousand slot machines really gave it that casino feeling. People could be seen moving in all directions, from game to game and machine to machine.

"So, guys…do you wanna hit the slot machines and tables first, or do you wanna eat?" Mario asked after a few moments. The others began debating what they wanted to do first.

"Well, Daisy and I are both pretty hungry…" Peach answered. Luigi nodded in agreement while Mario turned left to reach the nearest restaurant. He could hear Peach and Daisy exchanging phrases of excitement behind him as they followed. He smiled to himself, happy that, for once, he was actually pleasing the girls.

"So Mario…" Luigi ran ahead of Peach and Daisy and let them continue with their chatting. He had his own business to take care of with his brother, and could care less about some purse that Peach and Daisy apparently thought was amazing.

"Hmm?" Mario turned his attention to Luigi, who looked as though he wanted to have some important conversation…unfortunately…

"Do you really think that the solution we made this afternoon is correct?" Luigi asked, a desperate look in his eye. One might suspect that he just really had that urge to solve the mystery.

Mario sighed, "Luigi, we're not going to bring up the case tonight, okay? And about what you asked…I think we're probably wrong…"

Luigi gave his brother a look of surprise and confusion as he slowed his pace to let Mario advance farther than him. He wanted to debate his problem in his mind for the moment: So after all that, Mario still felt that they were wrong? Well, he generally _was _right when it came to these kinds of things, but still…their solution seemed so…correct. At least in _Luigi's _mind it did…

"We've never been here before…" Mario announced, stopping the girls from their boring chit-chat, and Luigi from his struggling, "Wanna eat at this place?"

The girls nodded while Luigi mumbled a few words of satisfaction, not entirely listening to what Mario was saying. He was still trying to figure out why Mario was so doubtful about the solution they had come up with…but at the time, Luigi just planned to enjoy the night at the casino…

The restaurant was big and opened. It was also filled with lights and accessories to make it seem more welcoming, and less subdued and private. Grand water fountains and outstanding waterfalls accompanied the amazing place. One might suspect that such a restaurant was 'too good to be true', and, in most people's eye, it _was_…

Mario could sense pleasantness, and just had that feeling that they were going to have an enjoyable night (and an enjoyable _meal_, for that matter). He was right; at such an awesome place, they was no way he was going to bring up the case…


	23. Not on the List

Yay! New chapter!**Chapter 22-Not on the List**

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A friendly waitress escorted the four to a table on the other side of the restaurant. Again, Mario was disappointed; a _table_.

"So…can I start you off with a drink?" The waitress asked, handing each of them a reddish colored menu. The four scanned quickly through it, and all ordered their desired beverages.

Luigi desperately wanted to talk to Mario as to why he had thought that their solution was incorrect, but he knew it was best not to. So, instead, he merely followed along in the group's conversation, trying to eliminate his desire to bring up the mystery.

In a few minutes, he waitress had returned, carrying the four drinks that they had ordered in her hands. She gently placed them on the table and exchanged 'you're welcomes' as they politely thanked her, "Do you all know what you want to eat?"

Peach ordered first, then Daisy, and then Luigi. When it came to Mario, though, he had his 'I'm not satisfied with the food on the menu' kind of look on his face. Peach sighed and shook her head, hoping that Mario would just order and not make a big fuss out of it. Once, Mario had gotten into a huge argument with a waitress in some restaurant he and Peach were at. He wound up screaming at her so much that they got kicked out of the restaurant!

"You see here…" Mario pointed to a page on the menu. The waitress bent down next to him and curiously looked at what he was pointing to, "There's all of this pasta in the pasta list, but no lasagna. I'm guessing that you don't serve it here?"

"Yes, that's correct. It was removed from the menu about two weeks ago," The waitress explained. Mario stared at her, which was beginning to make her uncomfortable. Apparently he was trying to comprehend the fact that they were stupid enough, as he put it, to remove lasagna from the menu…

"You removed it from the pasta list?!" Mario asked, awfully loudly. He was in shock, even though there was nothing shocking about the matter…

"Umm…well, yes, we did," The waitress repeated, stating quite firmly now that they did, indeed, remove lasagna from the menu, "It turned out that no one was buying any lasagna…and then, when only a few people would order it throughout the nights, it would anger the chef that he made a lot of lasagna, and that it would go to waste, you know? So he wound up asking us waitresses to try and get the manager to get it off the pasta list…who knows why he just couldn't do it himself. But anyway, he just said that it would make the night go easier…"

Mario blinked, a shocked expression thrust upon his face. Normally, Peach would ask him to 'cut it out', but she could tell that this shocked expression wasn't because they didn't have any lasagna. The waitress had definitely said something that triggered something in his mind.

He quickly mumbled his order and pushed the menus aside for the waitress to take. She was a little surprised that he gave the whole lasagna thing up…

"Guys!" Mario exclaimed as soon as the waitress walked away, "I've figured something out!"

Either Mario had truly solved some dilemma in the case, or he just planned to continue talking about the lasagna. He looked at them with excitement as they stared at him in bewilderment.

"Now, just listen to this: let's reenact the night of the murder, okay? So, let's assume that the chef the waitresses were talking about is Toadiko…"

The three others just stared at him. They couldn't really find any words to try and continue the conversation, so Mario merely went on without any interruption, "Now, we can obviously imagine that it was Toadiko's plan to take me off the list, like the chef and the lasagna. So, as the waitress had said, the chef wanted them to have the manager take it off the list, right? We can kind of say that the waitresses were the chef's 'accomplices' in this action. Toadiko had an accomplice, too…the Goomba bouncer…"

"But that doesn't make any sense…" Luigi butted in, hoping that, for one time, he could counter a solution that Mario was trying to make, "The Goomba bouncer couldn't have been Toadiko's accomplice, because he was _dead_!"

Mario shook his head, "You don't understand…Toadiko must have had _two _accomplices…I'm guessing that she had a shooter, who we think is another Toad or Toadette worker at your castle, Peach. But anyway, she must have bribed the Goomba bouncer to remove me from the list, an-,"

"Why?" Peach butted in. That was one thing that was still unanswerable in the case, and she was dying to know the reason as to _why _Mario had been removed from the list…

"I have a possible solution, for that, but I will not reveal it yet. For now, I'd like to continue and explain that at the end. So, as I was saying, Toadiko had the Goomba bouncer remove me from the list. I'm guessing that she had the shooter kill him at the party so he wouldn't get the chance to feel guilty and reveal her intentions to the police. Now, I wouldn't have figured this out, if it wasn't for one thing that the waitress said: _it would make the night go easier_. Obviously, I could somehow ruin Toadiko's plans during the party, and that she didn't want me there. This led me to the possible solution I was talking about, Peach…"

The three pulled themselves close to the table to hear Mario's thought on the case. They were getting very excited and hoped that they could finally solve something in the mystery.

"Now, I know that this solution might be incorrect, but I'd just like to offer it to you guys: I'm guessing that I played a key part in stopping her plan. It's not from my observant nature. It's not from my superior ways in solving mysteries. No…it was where I was standing…"

"Standing?" Peach asked.

"Yes… now don't you remember that there were balloons all around the stage? Well, _almost _all around the stage, _except _here I would be standing…I must have been in perfect view to see the shooter!"

"That…makes perfect sense…" Peach admitted, looking at Mario and smiling. Could they have truly had figured something out? "I mean, why else wouldn't they let you into the party?"

"Yeah!" Daisy agreed. Obviously the girls favored Mario's idea greatly, which pleased him. He had hoped that they wouldn't merely shrug and mumble unsatisfied complaints, and it was quite clear that that wasn't what they were doing…

The red-capped plumber had broken his promise; they did, indeed, talk about the case. But it had definitely been a wise decision…


	24. A Look to the Past

Yes! The new chapter is FINALLY here! I'm sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but I'm glad to present that you will have to wait no longer. It was strange, writing this chapter...I mean, I knew exactly what I wanted to write, but, for some reason, had a really tough time putting it into words. But anyway, you are basically going to be revealed the answer to the mystery in this chapter, so I'd really appreciate it if you'd review on such an important chapter, and tell me how much you had figured out, and stuff. But anyway, after this chapter, there will only be 3 more (for a total of 26 chapters)! the next 2 will be adventure-action kind of chapters, and the last will basically be the finale and end of the story. But for now, enjoy!

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**Chapter 23-A Look to the Past**

The rest of the night had gone by thankfully slowly. For once, something that they actually enjoyed doing didn't speed by like normal. This was quite a reprieve from the intense mystery that was always lurking in the back of their minds.

By eleven o'clock, they were back in their car, driving back to the princess's castle. They exchanged amusing stories of the night, and never once mentioned the mystery. The thought of the case never even entered their minds…

It was eleven thirty, and Peach was feeling awfully alone. Mario and Luigi left for their house on account of being tired, and Daisy said that she wanted to go back to her hotel and relax. But Peach was not in the mood for any of that. She was still quite energized, and wanted to put that energy to use.

"Princess, would you like me to make you a cup of warm tea?" Toadsworth asked as he entered Peach's extravagant bedroom. He found her sitting at one end of the room, looking at the huge fireplace with a roaring fire inside.

"Yes. Thank you…" she said quietly as Toadsworth disappeared out of the room. She heard him mumble a few words to Toadbert before he went downstairs.

Peach stood up from her cozy spot by the fireplace and crept out of her room in a suspicious manner. She wasn't entirely sure what she planned to do, but she knew that it involved spying on Toadiko…

Peach made her way down the stairs. She heard Toadsworth yell something to her from the kitchen, but she nonchalantly ignored him. It probably wasn't something important, anyway…

Toadiko was found in the dining room, dusting. She hadn't even felt the presence of another person in the room. It wasn't until she turned around and nearly screamed that she realized Peach was there.

"Peach…you scared me…what do you want…?"

But the princess did not reply. She merely stared at the Toadette as she looked back at her. Was Peach truly looking at a murderer? Or, at least, some kind of criminal? It was frightening…and probable…

"Peach! Peach! Look at this!" Mario burst through the front door of the castle. Peach was quite tired after spying around the previous night, and she had found it quite difficult to fall asleep, afterwards. This left her completely exhausted the following morning…especially after Toadsworth woke her up at seven in the morning…

"What?" She asked, startled, as Mario began waving some newspaper in her face. She backed away quickly, extending her hand to try and grab the newspaper from him, "Mario?! What's the matter with you?!"

"Look here, Peach! I-I think I've got it!"

"Got what?!" Peach snapped, a little impatient. By the way Mario was jumping about, one might suspect that he just got a check for a million dollars. Geez, did something in some newspaper truly make him this delighted?

"I think I've found the answer to the case!" Mario grabbed Peach's arm and sat her down on the couch, next to him. The princess felt a rush of excitement and anxiety spread throughout her. Did Mario truly find the answer to the mystery? Would it be all over in the next few minutes?

"And there's something in that newspaper? Today's newspaper?" Peach asked.

Mario shook his head, "No, no, this is a newspaper that I kept from last month, for reasons I'm sure you will understand…"

Peach looked at him awkwardly. Why in the world would Mario keep a newspaper from last month? And how did this newspaper hold the answer to a present mystery?

"Now, just look at the top story…" Mario said, looking at the newspaper and then back to Peach. He had a huge smile spread upon his face as the princess began to look at it. The 'I just solved the case' kind of feeling filled him with much pleasure.

"This…" Peach said, stopping, an entirely confused expression on her face, "Is the…the article about the robbery last month…but why?" The princess looked and read over the headline again and again, sighing deeply each time. It was her castle that had been robbed!

"Just read it, and refresh your memory," Mario said, still smiling. The grin on his face made him look like some doofus whose evil plans had just been successfully carried out.

The princess suspiciously looked down at the newspaper she held in her hands. Normally, Peach would probably slap Mario for brining up such a dreadful, and, slightly embarrassing, experience. But this was no time for Peach to unleash any bit of anger. No, if Mario was right, then they had basically solved the case…

The newspaper article read as follows:

_Even Princesses Get Robbed_

_Princess Peach has just gone through a horrible experience: Some expensive items have somehow been stolen from the castle, and are still missing. The police investigated the crime thoroughly, and still, no clues were found. Even their suspect list consists of no one, leaving one vital and truly complex question: Who would rob the princess?_

_"It's unbelievable…" One policeman said, "How perfect this crime is"._

_As of yet, no information has been revealed. The police will continue to search for these items, as well as the criminal. If anyone has any vital information, please report to the police immediately._

Peach closed her eyes as she laid down the newspaper on the table in front of her. The frightening thoughts of that situation began returning into her mind. Could someone truly find a way into the castle and silently steal the items? It made her wonder how protected she truly was…

"Peach, reread the second paragraph again," Mario said, trying not to show any sorrow, and get straight to the point. They really didn't have any time to waste…

Peach looked at Mario awkwardly, but then followed his instructions. She quickly reread the mere quotes that comprised paragraph two and looked back up at Mario.

"Don't you find that…suspicious?" The red-capped plumber asked. Again, this confused Peach.

"No…what is so suspicious about it?" It was typical for Mario to find some kind of elaborate clue hidden within the words. But what? How could that little paragraph hide the answer to the mystery? If Mario was – somehow – right about whatever suspicion he had, then Peach could say that, without a doubt, they wouldn't have solved the case without Mario…

"Just think about this…and don't completely turn this solution down, okay? I mean, I managed to stumble upon this newspaper in one of my filing cabinets, and I'm thankful I had decided to save it. Because if I'm right, then it was that very newspaper that provided the answer for me…" Mario explained, while Peach merely look at him with a suddenly interested expression on her face. She nodded in understanding for him to continue, "So then, let's go through this mystery right from the beginning, okay?"

"The two murders…" Peach interrupted.

"No, even before the two murders…we need the motive. And that motive is hidden within the article you just read. Like I mentioned before, the second paragraph caught my eye, especially when the policeman said 'how perfect this crime is'. You may look upon that phrase as a mere, meaningless quote from a policeman, but I thought deeply into what he had said. The crime was so perfect that it seems almost impossible, am I right? And it even frightens you to think that some criminal had actually broken into your house, despite your security alarms? Well…to make that even worse, that very criminal has been living in your castle for several years now!"

Peach gave him a wild look, reading 'you're crazy'. She wanted to completely turn down his idea, but something told her that he would manage to convince her. But how? Was he implying that the criminal was…Toadiko? "I presume that you mean to tell me that Toadiko was that criminal?"

"Yes, she was. But, I think, she even had an accomplice. And it was that very accomplice that started this entire mystery! If you haven't guessed by now, then I am pleased to inform you that this accomplice we speak of is Toadario!"

Was this some kind of joke? Geez, this was more far-fetched than when Mario had once accused a dead guy of robbing a bank! Really, though, it was Toadario who started this entire mystery? So, by the sound of it, he bribed someone to shoot him? That's a new one…, "What are you talking about?!"

"What I'm saying is that Toadiko and Toadario robbed you. Who knows what they planned to do with the money? Probably wait a month and then leave this area entirely, or else we might get suspicious if they had left so suddenly and quickly. But anyway, I'm guessing that Toadario began feeling guilty and told Toadiko that they should turn themselves in. But, like any other true criminal, Toadiko didn't feel the same, and she knew what she had to do. She managed to hold off Toadario for a few days, until the night of the party, where he wound up getting shot. This gave her the perfect alibi and shined no suspicion, whatsoever, on her…"

Peach thought about it a moment, and eventually nodded. She felt as though she had just been told some crazy story that somehow made perfect sense. It began to scare her to think that Toadario was in on it from the beginning, too...until his unsuspected murder, of course...

"But, wait, Peach, I think I might know more..." Mario said, a triumphant look on his face. At this rate, they would have the solution to the case wrapped up in no time! It was like a miracle of sorts..., "So, after the murder, the next suspicious thing was Detective Goom. Now this puzzled me greatly, and it took me quite a while to devise this solution. Just listen to this: What if Detective Goom was the shooter?"

"What?!" Peach yelled, startled. She acted as though she had just been told some unbelievable news...which was, for the time being, exactly what she thought it was..., "That's absurd!"

"No, no it isn't. If Toadiko was the one behind this whole thing, then why would she offer to hire a detective? She must have had Detective Goom kill the to people, but she couldn't trust him. He planned to go on vacation, probably in order to get away from the crime, but Toadiko hired him at the last minute. Now, two nights ago, Toadbert had told me some interesting information that you may not have heard: he said that he had gone upstairs while Toadiko was on the phone, and heard her using a different voice. I'm guessing this was because that, if he had heard her voice, he would refuse whatever she told him to do. After all, he must have been feeling pretty guilty, since he wanted to confess that night. So, with her disguised voice, she told him anything so he would push off his vacation; even if the case she had told him about was a lie. With this extra time, Toadiko managed to kill him before he managed to confess to what they had done. With all of her assistants gone, then she was clear having one of them admit to the crime. Another side problem surfaced: Us. She must have figured that she could try and kill a few of us by lying about the file that Hamma had supposedly wanted. She knew that we wee her biggest threat in getting caught, so she figured that it would be best to kill some of us before she left the entire area..."

Peach merely sat there, and looked at him. Her eyes were wide with amazement. Mario had just explained and covered all of the details that had been left unsolved. And he made it so simple, too..., "How...did you figure all this out?"

"That newspaper..." He replied, looking and pointing to it, "I was looking through my filing cabinets this morning, and I happened to find it. I decided to reread it. I mean, what's the point of keeping stuff if your not going to use it? But anyway, that certain sentence that I had mentioned earlier caught my eye, and everything eventually seemed to fall into place. It amazed even me..."

The princess was left with no more words or questions. All she could do was think about how incredible it was, that, after all of those painful days of clue-searching, the mystery was finally solved...

"Oh...no..." A familiar voice said. Both Mario and Peach turned in the direction in which they had head the voice, surprised to see Toadetta there.

"What's wrong?" Peach asked, suddenly becoming a little nervous as to what the Toadette had to say. She suspected that she was going to say that something broke inside the castle that Peach loved, but she was surprised to hear Toadetta's response.

"Toadiko...I-I overheard what you guys were saying, and...well...Toadiko said that she had to run a few errands. But I hadn't realized until now that Toadiko wasn't running errands..."

"Oh no..." Mario repeated, understanding what Toadetta was trying to say; Toadiko was leaving the area for good, and would never be back...


	25. A Desperate Search

I'm glad to announce that the next chapter is here. With this being the third to last chapter, I hope you are preparing yourself for the final climax of the story! I'm also glad to say that I am grateful for those who have reviewed and enjoyed this story, but I think I'll save the rest of the thanks for the end. So, for now, I hope you enjoy this next chapter and continue to review.

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**Chapter 24-A Desperate Search**

"Luigi! Call Daisy! Tell her to meet you at our house! Toadiko's not at the castle, she's gonna escape, and we have no idea where she's gone! I'm sorry I can't explain anything, but you and Daisy have gotta go and look for her! You guys check the train station, and Peach and I will go to the airport! Call my cell if you've got anything! Notify the police!" And with that, Mario hung up the phone, leaving Luigi no time to say even a single word. This left the green-capped plumber highly curious and a bit cautious of what was going on...

"Check the airport?" Peach overheard Mario, grabbing her car keys and rushing out the door, with him at her side. To onlookers, it might have looked as though the duo was late for a luncheon or something, but this was most certainly not the case.

"Lemme drive!" Mario yelled as Peach swiftly tossed him the car keys, where he caught them, equally as swift. The two jumped into the car immediately, and Mario waited for almost nothing before he backed up and found himself driving down the street..., "Peach! Call Hamma and have him search the area. You know, like super markets and grocery stores and stuff. This will ensure that Toadiko is actually gone and didn't just go to the store or something..."

The princess nodded, pulling out her cell phone and dialing Hamma's number with tremendous speed. It only took a few seconds before she heard his voice on phone, oblivious to how desperate their situation truly was.

Mario listened as Peach sputtered out quick and numerous phrases. He wouldn't have been surprised if Hamma became even more clueless as to what was going on. By the way Peach was speaking, Hamma would probably explode out of sheer confusion. He wondered if Luigi was feeling the same way about how he had spoken to him, which, knowing him, he probably was.

"Bye!" He heard Peach yell into the phone, "He's going right now..."

Mario felt a bit more relieved. Considering that they practically had an entourage of Toadiko-hunters with them, he felt a lot better than he would if only he and Peach were going. But still, Toadiko was smart. She would most likely have some kind of elaborate plan that would get her out of even the worst of situations...unfortunately...

"Mario..." Peach said his name, several minutes later. This caused him to quickly glance at her out of the corner of his eye, "You're going a bit fast, wouldn't you say?"

"No..." Mario said, keeping his eyes on the road. Sure, he wasn't going eighty miles an hour, but for Mario, anything faster than the speed limit was a big jump for him. But this was no time to waste dilly-dallying on following the speed limit, which his brother was probably doing. If anything, and judging by his driving, one might suspect that Mario was a reckless driver that cared little about the safety of others..., "Call Luigi! Now!"

Peach complied, not entirely sure why Mario had suddenly wanted to bring his brother back into the picture. She suspected he wanted to check up on how he was doing, but when it came to Mario...you could never be quite sure...

"Luigi?" Peach asked, glancing at Mario. The plumber leaned in towards her and whispered for her to ask him about his progress, "Umm, where are you?"

"Daisy and I just got in the car now..."

Peach explained the situation to the ever-so-jumpy Mario, who found himself tensely gripping the steering wheel and jerking it around as though he were a robot. He simply nodded and ignored Peach's 'now what' look on her face.

"Hey, Luigi, we'll call you back in ten minutes. If you don't hear from us then, then call me in fifteen, alright?" Peach said, rather suddenly. This caught Luigi slightly off guard.

"All right, princess..." And with that, they ended their short conversation. Peach found herself staring ahead, through the windshield, watching the cars go whizzing by. For once, it was Mario who was doing the passing, considering he was exceeding the speed limit by almost twenty miles an hour. Peach wouldn't have been surprised if they got a speeding ticket, right then and there. This was one thing that she began to fear; if Toadiko was at the airport, then the last thing they needed was to be pulled over by a policeman.

"Peach, make sure I don't miss the exit, alright? Give me heads up when you see the sign..."

It only took a few minutes for Peach to fulfill her job. Mario found himself merging -which was more like jolting - to the right as though this was some Driver's Ed class. Apparently he wasn't a very good driver when under pressure...

"We'll be their in just a minute. Make sure you have your phone with you," Mario ordered, not wanting to waste any time worrying about what they needed when they were parked.

Peach felt her heart racing at speeds that seemed impossible to reach. After all of their searching, this might finally come to an end with this final confrontation. It began to make her jumpy out of sheer anxiety.

SCRREEECH! The car came to an unexpected halt, making Peach lunge forward. Thankfully, she had herself strapped tightly in her seatbelt, as soon as she had realized that Mario was going to drive like a mad-man.

"Get out!" Mario yelled suddenly, while Peach was recovering from the unpleasant parking incident, "Hurry!"

The duo found themselves joining together in the parking lot and walking awfully quickly to the air port entrance. Mario feared that Toadiko was either already in the air, or she was just about to be.

Peach, on the other hand, wasn't as confident as Mario was that she was indeed, at the airport. For all they knew, they might have been stressing and recklessly driving over nothing...

But Peach was wrong. Definitely wrong. Mario had stopped, frozen in his tracks, staring forward in amazement. She joined him, as they both, awestruck, watched Toadiko walk across the far end of the airport with a large suitcase. She was wearing a pair of sunglasses and was walking as though nothing was wrong. It was almost annoying to see such a criminal acting like she was just a mere citizen. But Mario and Peach knew better than to fall into the trap that they had fallen into several times before. Toadiko wasn't fooling them, anymore...


	26. The Chase

No, I didn't forget about this fan fiction. Not at all, actually. If anything, I was constantly thinking about it. But I seemed to have a hard time putting it into words. Although, I_ do _think the finished product is really nice, and it's one of my favorite chapters.

So, there's only one more chapter after this. But take note, that I will add a bonus chapter after the last one that will include a bunch of trivia and other fun stuff about this fan fiction.

So, prepare yourself, for the final confrontation...

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Chapter 25-The Chase

"Get her..." Mario whispered to Peach. The duo began to walk quickly to towards the other end of the parking lot, watching every move of the unaware Toadette. But Toadiko didn't stay unaware for long, as she turned her head and almost screamed to see the ever-so-persistent Mario and his girlfriend charging towards her. For a few brief seconds, all she could do was stare in amazement at the thought that she had actually been beaten. After all that...she would lose? After thinking she could never be caught? It would all end? No, she decided, it would not be the end...

And she ran...suddenly and spontaneously, she ran. This immediately caught both Mario and Peach off guard, and they, too, began a mad dash toward the panicking Toadette.

Toadiko was running in the complete opposite direction of the airport, knowing that she would obviously have a hard time successfully getting on her plane and leaving all of her troubles behind. And to make it even worse, she was stupidly carrying her suitcase with her, for fear that...she would lose what was inside...

Mario and Peach were gaining quickly, due to Toadiko's heavy suitcase. Obviously, there was something very important in that hefty piece of luggage she was practically dragging with her. By then, Mario and Peach were at the end of the parking lot, turning right, up a small, grassy hill. Where on Earth was this crazy girl leading them?!

RRRRRINNNG! Peach's phone suddenly went off in her pocket. She glanced down and grabbed it, trying to steadily hold it to her ear while talking, "Hello?"

"Hey, Peach..." Luigi said into the phone, "Are you okay? Why are you breathing like that?"

"Not...now, Luigi!" Peach said as she and Mario followed Toadiko into another parking lot as soon as they were over the tiresome hill. Except this time, Toadiko was running much faster...without her suitcase, "We're...chasing Toadiko! We...found her! Get over here!"

"Okay princess, we'll be right over. And the police can't do anything because they want some kind of proof! I mean, us just calling and telling them that we knew who it was, without any pr-,"

"Whatever!" Peach yelled into the phone, "Just...uh...talk to Mario!" And with that, she thrust the phone in Mario's direction. He glanced at her awkwardly, but when she then insisted for him to talk to his brother, he couldn't do anything but comply.

"This is Mario...Luigi?"

"Mario, what's going on over there?! Give me details!" His brother blurted into the phone. Mario could hear Daisy's concerned voice on the other line, and he began to wonder the two really had any idea what was going on.

"Luigi...come...to the airport! Fast!" Mario gasped into the phone as he pulled it away from his mouth for a brief second so he could run more properly. Trying to talk and run wasn't exactly the easiest of tasks, especially since they had to worry about chasing a murderer...

"But...the police..." Luigi moaned, "They want some kind of proof!"

Peach listened as Mario briefly explained some of the key facts involved in the case. Luigi was most likely shaking his head in confusion and stupidly saying 'I understand' when he obviously didn't. That's Luigi for you...

Not long after, Mario hung up and handed the phone to Peach as they watched the Toadette sprint ahead, showing no signs of exhaust, whatsoever. Apparently when the situation was truly serious, you never found the time to be tired...

And then Toadiko did something that was quite random and unexpected; she ran into one of the most popular places in the Mushroom Kingdom, the Mushroom Mall. But why? To try and shield herself by hiding within the expansive place?

"How are we going to find her in here?!" Peach whined as they burst through the main doors, immediately finding themselves encompassed by dozens of frantic shoppers. Now this wasn't going to be easy...

"Come on!" Mario called to the princess, despite the fact that, he too, had no idea where Toadiko might have run off to. But they might as well start looking, rather than just stand there stupidly...

"Let's split up!" Peach suggested as they maneuvered randomly throughout the crowd of people, "We can cover more ground that way..."

"Might as well..." Mario said, with a sense of hopelessness in his voice. At this rate, Toadiko would be able to easily waltz right out of there without having to worry one bit.

A few seconds later, the two mumbled their words of departure as they went their separate ways. Peach was to search the second of many floors, while Mario simply stayed on the ground level in hopes that Toadiko was too lazy to go up the stairs...

RRRRRINNNG! Mario's cell phone went off this time, which he promptly answered while trying to escape from a maze of clothing aisles in which he had gotten himself unsuspectingly stuck in, "Luigi? What's the news?"

"Alright, the police believed the story. Although I'm not sure how you managed to come up with that. I told them that she was going to take a plane and stuff, so their notifying the airport to look out for her name..."

"Oh, good..." Mario suddenly felt much more relieved, and actually stopped searching for the moment. By the sound of it, Toadiko was trapped and had no way out of this mess..., "Thanks for the update, Luigi. Where are you now?"

"Uh...I'm just getting on the highway..."

"Alright, and Peach and I are in the mall..." Luigi couldn't help but to wonder why in the world they were at the mall? Really though, a criminal was at the verge of escaping, and they found time to go shopping? Either they suddenly didn't care about the mystery, or Peach's line of vision fell upon a purse in a display window..., "Toadiko managed to hide herself from us in here..."

"Oh..." Luigi finally understood, "I'll be over as soon as I can. Bye..." When he hung up, Mario sighed a reassured sigh. It was all over...Toadiko would eventually be caught, and then everyone could just go back to their normal, murder-less lives...

But Peach was unaware of this news...and she was determined to find and catch Toadiko, to finally end the pain they had been going through the past few days. Little did she know, however, Toadiko was determined, too...

Peach found herself roaming around a large store that appeared to have a vast selection of assorted, miscellaneous items. It was right then, that she realized that they had a slim to none chance of finding Toadiko. They would fail...a criminal would escape...she would never forget that. All that, because she had never wanted take track when she was in school...

But then she appeared. Yes, the Mushroom Kingdom's most wanted criminal was inside that store...approaching the exit carefully, as though she expected both Mario and Peach to be lurking around the corner. And she was...actually there...along with a very angry princess. And this specific princess had had enough...she would win. No...Peach would dominate, annihilate, destroy the sad excuse for a living being that walked before her...

And like a roaring fire, Peach became angrier...and angrier. Angrier until she entirely lost it. With her arms outstretched as though she were going to hug someone, Peach dashed forward an prepared herself for the final confrontation...

Toadiko couldn't help but to notice the infuriated princess running towards her, screaming her full head off about how Peach had trusted Toadiko, or something...

CRASH! Peach tackled the surprised Toadette, and they landed with a sickening thud, knocking over several items that enhanced the loudness of the fall. This also attracted a huge commotion in the crowd surrounding them, causing most curious people to stand by and watch the scene.

Toadiko managed to push herself away from the deadly beast that had just tackled her. And before she stumbled up onto her feet, she saw two hefty security guards huffing and puffing their way into the action. They would only pose as a mere distraction to the two girls.

"Hold it right there, you two!" One of them shouted, pointing an accusing finger in their direction. But neither of them obeyed the security guard, as they both continued to harshly fight with each other.

Toadiko was more determined than ever, and she wasn't going to let Peach off the hook, even though it was clear that there would be no way of escaping the situation now. If she was going to have to suffer, then Peach would, as well. In pain...

And so unsuspectedly, Toadiko reached to her right to grab one of the many baseball bats that were laying in a large box. She swung furiously, inches away from striking Peach and knocking the senses out of her.

The princess stayed on the ground, too surprised to move. She watched as it was the security guards' turn to take on Toadiko. But as she did to Peach, she showed no signs of mercy or submission. Again she swung, once hitting one of the security guards, who crumbled to the ground in pain.

"Drop the bat!" The remaining security guard yelled, pulling a hidden gun from one of his pockets. He pointed it steadily at Toadiko, hoping he wouldn't have to pull the trigger. But the Toadette hardly showed any signs of fright, as she, yet again, raised her baseball bat in preparations to swing fiercely at the security guard, "Now! Drop the bat!"

Still, Toadiko showed no change in expressions. If anything, she was tightening her grip on the bat more. But she didn't plan to swing...no, she planned to throw.

And in a quick moment, she flung the bat at the security guard, catching him entirely off guard. He, too, stumbled to the ground, though unharmed. With the two security guards out, Toadiko began to turn around, remembering that the princess, her next victim, was sitting behind her...

WHACK! Peach smashed a baseball bat of her own directly at Toadiko, who flew backwards and landed, unconscious. It was over...they had won...no, Peach had won. She had dominated, annihilated, destroyed.

The useful security guard was already up, "What was all that about?! Explain!"

Before Peach could answer, she saw Mario burst into the store, "I heard some people outside talking about a fight! Peach...what happened?!" He couldn't help but to smile at the thought that Toadiko was finally caught...it was definitely over...

"Oh, Mario..." Peach said, rushing over to him and embracing him tightly. For once, they both felt a very relieved sensation. This was such a new and great feeling, it seemed like it was the first time they had ever felt it...

A half hour later, everything was cleared up. Luigi and Daisy had finally managed to find them, and Peach was excused for any disturbances she had caused in the store. If anything, she should have received rewards...

The four began walking, preparing to leave. Not only were they just leaving the store, or the mall, but they were leaving the unforgettable pain they were exposed to the past couple of days...

Mario and Luigi were the first out of the store. Peach, however, couldn't help but to turn around for just a few seconds, and watch as Toadiko was being escorted by the police. For a split second, they made eye contact. And the look on Toadiko's face - with a tired complexion and bruised eye - was one Peach would never forget...

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To tell you the truth, I was think about ending the fan fiction there, after I reread it. But there's another specific thing that I want to include in the last chapter, which is the reason why this isn't the last chapter. Thank you for reading this chapter, and please leave a review! :D


	27. The Real Confrontation

NOOOOOO! This is the final chapter, and I'm extremely disappointed to say that this fan fiction will be over. But...I hope you really Chapter 26, because I had a lot of fun writing it. Enjoy...this final chapter!

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Chapter 26-The Real Confrontation

Mario and Peach were just pulling into the castle's massive driveway, followed closely by Luigi and Daisy. For both duos, the ride back to the castle was extremely uneventful. Despite the fact that they had just put a dangerous criminal into prison, they felt no urge to discuss the matter any further. If anything, they would ignore it so much that they would just forget about it, altogether.

But little did they know, there was one more situation that needed dealing with. This particular situation, however, was not dangerous in any way. It did not involve murder...or whacking other people with baseball bats...

"Would you guys care to come in?" Peach asked as they all got out of their cars, "I could have Toadsworth make us some food..."

Obviously, Mario perked up when he heard the word 'food'. Never would he want to turn down such a scrumptious sounding offer, especially after all of the stress and running he had been through the past hour. In his mind, it sounded like a well-deserved treat...

And the others felt the same way, as they heartily agreed to Peach's generous proposition. It was apparent that they needed some kind of leisurely and 'who murdered this person'-less relaxation. And anyways, it's not everyday that you're capturing a dangerous criminal and solving an ever-so-complex mystery...

"Oh no..." Daisy was the first to realize that something unpleasant was standing outside Peach's front door. Yes, that Goomba girl...she was back, and most likely armed with dozens of crushing replies that would humiliate Peach, yet again. Now this wasn't going to be good...

"Just ignore them..." Mario shrugged, realizing that there was no reason to speak with the reporters. His plan was to simply ignore them and eat a peaceful meal inside the castle.

"I bet they won't leave, though..." Daisy remarked, as they continued moving closer and closer to the group of anxious reporters. They began to scurry closer to the four, preparing to bombard them with a volley of questions...

"Doesn't matter..." Mario mumbled back, without even turning his head in the direction they were going. He couldn't help but to notice the Goomba girl there, grinning wildly at the princess. It looked as though she were preparing her first attack..., "Just follow me..."

"No..." It was actually Peach who declined Mario's offer. He turned around and looked at her in disbelief, after noticing that she immediately stopped moving. For some reason, Peach wanted to stay and get humiliated..., "I...I won't let her continue to...you know...stomp all over me...I mean, who does she think she is?"

The three looked at the princess with surprised expressions on their faces. Did she really just say that? Suddenly, it seemed as though Peach was actually confident about this confrontation. Apparently she had forgotten that the Goomba girl did not play nice...

"Uhh...Peach? Why don't we just go inside?" Luigi broke the awkward silence, which was hardly silence, due to the annoying murmurs of the persistent reporters. But nonetheless, he really didn't think the princess should attempt to actually talk with the reporters. With that Goomba girl there, she would simply tear Peach to pieces and leave her even more depressed than she was before...

"No, Luigi!" Peach almost screamed, startling the other three. Even the nosey reporters couldn't help but to gawk at the scene before them. The princess, like normal, was overreacting about something she shouldn't have been..., "Just...let me handle this..."

The three reluctantly did as they were told, wondering what in the world Peach planned to do to make the situation better, let alone decent in any way. Somehow, she planned to stand up to that intimidating little snob...

As Mario, Luigi, and Daisy entered the castle, Peach took her place front of all of the reports, watching as they suddenly became active and started flinging questions at her. The princess simply stood there, understanding not a single word of the chaotic mess in front of her. She wondered if the reporters had any idea that she had no clue what they were saying. At the rate they were going, though - asking unlimited questions and showing no sense of exhaust - made Peach feel as though they were oblivious to the fact that they weren't making any progress with their questions.

With the reporters doing their thing, and Peach uncomfortably standing there, she couldn't help but to make an attempt to quiet them down. She planned to give them no information, but to simply have a final chat with that Goomba girl.

As they slowly quieted down, a specific voice rang out above the dying commotion. And sure enough, it was that darn reporter who had torn Peach's heart out again and again. She showed a sign of confidence, which the princess recognized as the beginning of the embarrassment. But this time...Peach also showed a sign of confidence...

"So princess..." The Goomba girl said innocently. It would only be a matter of time before she began to manipulate Peach with her remarks, "You apparently were the one who captured Toadiko successfully. Would you like to explain the situation?"

All Peach wanted to do right then was rip the girls head off. But instead of showing any signs of violence, she simply played along and answered, "Sure Toadiko was pretty tough, but she obviously stood no chance in escaping from us. It was then that I simply tackled her and it was all over..." Peach exaggerated. Speaking of tackling Toadiko, Peach wouldn't have mind if she did the same to the Goomba girl.

"Oh, so it wasn't a real fight? You just used your size to pin the girl down?"

Peach couldn't help but to glare at the smirking reporter. By the way she said it, it made it sound as though she were calling Peach...fat? That was most certainly not the case. If anything, it would have been Toadiko's size that forced her to be a not-so-good competitor in the fight..., "Well it went differently than that," Peach snapped.

"How so? By the way you speak of it, it was a task anyone could complete..." And so it began...the battle of the females was just starting, and the Goomba girl was highly favored. But little did she know, when Peach isn't in the most fantastic of moods, you should never mess with her...

The princess took a deep breathe, thinking about what Hamma had said to her the day before: "Those reporters are idiots…don't let them get to you…"...,"that's what Detective Goom always told me…". It was sad to think that that advice had come from a murderer, but nonetheless, Detective Goom was right. And she planned to stand by him when it came to that.

"You know what? It wasn't a task that anyone can do. So why don't you stop manipulating my words, and do your actual job for once!"

The Goomba girl was slightly taken back, and was most certainly surprised about Peach's sudden outburst. Even the other reporters were surprised to see Peach acting in such a manner.

But the Goomba girl was persistent, and did not plan to give up so easily. She realized that she still had a list of ways to turn the tables back and humiliate the princess, yet again, "Oh, so you think I'm the one not doing my job? Look at yourself! A princ-,"

"Just shut up! You make me sick! And don't use my attack tactic for yourself, especially when it's not true! That just shows how desperate you are to come up with a comeback!" Peach fired back, leaving the Goomba girl in a severe shock of awe. The princess gave her a moment to reply, but when it seemed as though she was removed of all of her snobby comments, Peach found it to be the perfect time to strike again, "So what ever happened to the over-confident reporter, huh? At a loss of words? Or are you just realizing how pathetic you are? And to think that you were the brat to accuse me of being an attention-seeker! Using your sneaky manipulating to put yourself on the front page seems to me that your the one who seeks attention!" Again Peach gave her a chance to reply, and again, she wasted it, leaving herself wide open for a final attack, "Maybe you're not so great as you thought you were? Really though, the next time you want to try and embarrass someone, you should at least be smart enough to realize that you never mess with me..."

And as Peach began to walk into the castle to be showered with praise from the three eavesdroppers listening at the door, the Goomba girl couldn't help but to notice how powerless she felt. That very princess...the one she had humiliated time after time...had done the exact same thing back to her.

Inside the castle, there was a high demand for Peach to explain the situation in great detail. She satisfied them as best as she could, by telling them what she remembered. And after that, she graciously invited them to a meal in the dining room...

But Peach stayed back for a moment, as she watched her friends disappear through a door. She couldn't help but to recollect everything that had gone on the past few days. And, in the same day, she had ruled over against two of the saddest Mushroom Kingdom residents.

Before Peach met up with her friends in the dining room, she remembered how it was, after all that, Detective Goom who had helped her against the reporter. This made her feel more respect towards the sad, crazy Goomba who had unwillingly fallen into the clutches of Toadiko.

"Hey, Peach?" Mario appeared back in the room. After being in such deep thought, it surprised her to see him, "What are you doing?"

"I'll be right there..." Peach wanted a few minutes to herself. Mario understood, and he gently closed the door behind him. Peach sighed a reassured sigh as she sat down on one of her couches in the room.

Indeed, she was still reflecting upon the recent events. It pained her to think about such terrible people...however, at the same time, she also realized how great she felt that she had confronted both of them. But Mario was right; life is too short to waste time thinking about something like that. Toadiko and the Goomba girl were a thing in the past, and Peach planned to keep it that way...

The princess turned around, and looked out her window, trying to spot that horrible reporter. And there she was, standing in the midst of her shame, a perplexed and almost amazed expression on her face. Peach knew that look...it was the very look that Toadiko had on her face as she was being hauled off to prison. It was the look of defeat...the look someone would make when they realized that they were just beaten by the princess. But...most importantly...it was the look of disappointment, that they had taken a part of their life for granted, and it came back to get them..., "Good-bye now..." Peach whispered, addressing Toadiko and the Goomba girl, "And remember...never mess with a princess..."

**{~|THE END|~}**

**

* * *

Yay! Peach finally stood up to the reporter in this special closing chapter! Too bad it's the last chapter...but it won't be the last update! If you remember from last chapter, I said that I will provide a bonus chapter thingy that will have a bunch of trivia and fun stuff about the fan fiction, so look out for that, because there will be some interesting stuff there. So...I'm glad to say, this isn't the final good-bye!**


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